Our story began in 2015 on the very first day of college during Orientation Week at Carnegie Mellon. By a stroke of luck, we were both placed into the same Freshman dorm, Morewood E-Tower, just one floor apart, with Vero on the 4th floor and Brian on the 3rd. At first, our interactions were simple: the occasional slightly awkward conversation as we passed each other in the E-Tower breezeway. Before long, and with the help of some of our shared friends, those brief encounters slowly turned into more time together—studying, hanging out, exploring Pittsburgh, and learning a lot about life along the way. What began as a chance meeting quietly grew into a partnership filled with laughter, love, and unforgettable moments.

After finishing our Masters' at CMU, we both landed jobs in the Boston area, and decided to settle in Somerville in November of 2020. Vero brought her childhood cat Goody with her from California, who was immediately smitten with Brian, deciding that he was now her favorite. We were fortunate to have and make many friends in Somerville, and loved to host parties at our apartment (mainly so that people would come pay the "Cat Tax" to Goody and give her pets). Unfortunately, Goody passed away at the age of 20 in 2022, but the love and compassion she showed to use will remain with us forever. While in Massachusetts, we made sure to explore both the Somerville area as well as the surrounding cities. We had a lot of adventures, exploring local and distant nature, going to concerts, and visiting countries together. After 3 years, and having longed for warmer weather for much longer, we moved to Rancho Cordova (right next to Sacramento) into a house with Vero's sister Eva who is constantly trying to get us to watch scary movies. Vero has been working as a stormwater engineer for the city with a comfy 5 minute commute, and Brian works remotely as a software engineer with an even comfier 5 second commute (not that it's a contest). In Sacramento, we've found a lot of joy in doing recreational sports both together and alone. In the last 3 years we've joined recreational leagues for soccer, volleyball, pickleball, pool, and cornhole, which Vero's family also joins in for (3 time league champs no biggie). Whether in the incredibly mild winters or the blisteringly hot summers, we try to get out and push each other to be as active as possible. Recently we've gotten into running and cycling, which we like to do on the plethora of local bike trails. Unfortunately we couldn't take our favorite restaurants with us to California, but we've been doing our best at finding replacements for our go-to spots, most importantly to satiate our Ethiopian and Sichuan Chinese cravings. What we can't find here, Brian is always trying to make at home, experimenting with all kinds of cuisines and constantly bothering Vero to get new gadgets in the kitchen to play with (which we don't have room for!). Between all of this and the infinite number of goals that we've been kicking around like becoming fluent in Spanish, learning how to sing / dance, starting a band, exploring the world, buying a house, and starting a family, we still try to be as silly as we can and make each other laugh as much as possible. Whether you are family, an old friend, or a new one, you have been a vital part of our lives and our journey, and a part of you will always live with us and our story. We are so excited to add this wedding to the collection of memories in our lives, and for you all to share in it with us!