Alex and Jess were on the track and field team together at Cornell. Alex was a jumper and Jess was a distance runner, so their paths didn't cross much their first year. Sophomore year they were in the same physics class. Jess decided she wanted to befriend Alex as a fellow teammate and science major, so she reached out about doing a physics lab together in the fall. Jess tried to make conversation in between problem sets, but it was very one-sided. Jess labeled Alex as a jerk from that day on, and their interactions never progressed past the occasional "hey". Fast forward a few months, Alex and Jess both decided to stay the summer in Ithaca to work. One Friday night, Alex and Jess ran into each other at a friend's party. Jess admitted to one of Alex's friends that he had gotten "SO CUTE" while Alex was within earshot. They exchanged numbers that night and when Alex first texted Jess, she responded with "Score!!!!!” A month later, Alex paced around his kitchen as he texted Jess to ask her to a fourth of July party that evening. Jess agreed to go and they spent the evening doing relay races and hanging out with friends. They spent the next few days hanging out and enjoying summer in Ithaca together - hiking the gorges, lunch at CTB, and watching their favorite TV shows. On July 14, Alex and Jess went to dinner at Viva, a local Mexican restaurant. They had great conversation, including Alex asking Jess how exactly to pronounce her last name. After dinner, Alex asked Jess if she wanted to, "make this an official thing?" and the rest is history!

Alex totally surprised Jess with his proposal. It was a Wednesday evening in August of 2020. Alex and Jess had just returned from a PT session and were finishing up dinner when Alex told Jess he would take care of the rest. Jess went into their bedroom to get changed and on the bed was the dress she wore on their first date next to a framed picture of Alex and Jess. The words "Like a river flows, surely to the sea, darling so it goes, some things were meant to be," where written around the image. Next to the picture was a note to meet Alex up stairs. Waiting halfway up the stairs was another picture of Alex and Jess. This one was captioned with lyrics from their favorite Misterwives' song, "Open my eyes to see you and I can't believe this is life, we're coloring outside the lines." Jess continued up the stairs to find Alex at the top, where he was waiting in the outfit he wore on their first date, backwards cap and all. A third picture frame was on the table and was captioned with Taylor Swift's Lover, "I've loved you four summers and now honey I want them all." Alex had totally surprised Jess. It was such a special moment to reflect on where they had started all those years ago in Ithaca and where they are now, in their first home preparing for their future together. We are so excited for you all to be celebrating with us this August!