let's party!

We met during the first week of Spring Quarter (aka "sylly" week) at UW in 2019 and clicked immediately. Not long after, Tanner surprised Valerie with Evergreens salads (her favorite food) and a picnic at Gas Works Park for our first date. We spent more and more time together over the following months and, after the classic "will they, won't they" phase that every good romance story requires, we officially started dating on November 2nd, 2019. A few months later, Valerie left for Rome because "they" say distance makes the heart grow fonder (and she wanted to lock Tanner in for good). When she returned, she told her lifelong bestie, Anna, that she thought she might marry Tanner one day... Foreshadowing...😉 Then the world got hit by a pandemic. We decided to quarantine together for a week in California, which somehow turned into a road trip back to Seattle and a year of braving the pandemic together. We spent most of that time watching every teen drama ever made and playing way too much Animal Crossing and Fortnite. When the world returned to some version of normal, we went back to our regularly scheduled early-20s dating: living with friends, traveling between each other's houses, and—cringe warning—never fully settled in anywhere, but always at home with each other ❤️. It was during this chapter that we welcomed our child (dog), Biscuit, into our lives. In 2024, we moved in together again, this time as mostly fully functioning adults plotting a life together. Mwahahaha. On November 21st, 2025, we eloped at the Seattle Municipal Courthouse with a few close friends and family members and were thrilled to make our little family official. But there's more... Because we LOVE celebrating. On April 25th, 2026, Tanner planned a proper proposal at Gas Works Park, complete with Evergreens salads and a ring. And now we're ready to celebrate our friendship, love, marriage, and future with all of you. To the people who have been there since before we were born, played with us in childhood, endured our cringe tween and teen phases, gave us dating advice in college, and supported us through our early adulthood: thank you. You are our community, and we're so grateful for each and every one of you. We can't wait to celebrate with you and share our special wedding day together.