I first noticed Dani when we went to a Christmas concert with Josiah Brown and Kate Busman (both of whom are in the wedding!). I don’t remember a single thing from the concert, but I do remember driving back and Josiah happened to put on an ELO album (Eldorado). Dani and I immediately bonded over how much we loved the band. We went to Israel the next semester, and our friends ruthlessly tried to make us a couple. The worst (or best?) of it was when we lost a bet and had to stare into each other’s eyes for five minutes. Whether because of this or in spite of this, we didn’t go on any dates in Israel. It was two winters later (December 2021) when I knew I wanted to marry her. And, as I should have known, it was to music. I arrived at her house and she looked to be in tears. She wanted to show me a song, Simeon’s Song, by the Porter’s Gate. The song is from the perspective of Simeon, as he holds Jesus and realizes that the waiting through countless years of pain and suffering and an unseen promise is finally over. As Dani said then, on the other side of the Messiah, we are again waiting for Him. One day we too will sing, “All creation will be redeemed, / Now your servant can go in peace. / I have seen the Lord!”

My first memory of Zach is beach day, circa August 2017. It was the first week of college, and not too much stands out except that Zach had gloriously long hair, all slicked back into a neat little man bun (a choice I'm happy he hasn't made again). We had mutual friends, but no interactions, that I can remember at least. Fast forward one year later, as our first semester of Sophomore year was wrapping up, a friend of mine who had recently met Zach told me I needed to marry him. "What? But I don't even know him!" was my reply. A couple of weeks later we drove to the annual Master's Christmas concert together with friends, and we both found out that we loved Electric Light Orchestra, a rock band from the 80's. Even with our mutual friends, and the fact that we went to a very small school, this was probably the first conversation we had. Fast forward to Fall of 2020, and we both were in Israel, along with about 30 other classmates, to study for three months. About a month into IBEX, I knew that I liked Zach. It also didn’t help that everyone teased us all semester, even though we were definitely just friends. Back in California, the next fall semester, Zach and I continued to get to know one another during lunches a few times a week in the cafeteria- the most romantic of places. After continuing to get to know one another for three months, when I was starting to think we'd never be more than friends, Zach completely surprised me by asking me out to go rock climbing. I was overjoyed!! We went on a few dates, then a few dates more, and in January of 2020 Zach asked me to be his girlfriend. Then two months later, Covid hit, and we both went home to stay with our families, finishing out the semester online. We made it through the long distance (thanks FaceTime!), finished out college, and transitioned into the post-grad life. I knew pretty early on that I wanted to marry Zach. The next few years, the Lord brought lots of change in our lives during the transition from college to working full-time. After lots of long walks + trips to the beach, reading books together, discovering new music, and many conversations about the future, the Lord answered our prayers in bringing wisdom, clarity, and peace about moving to the next step. This lead to Zach asking me to marry him, one hot June day, at the lovely Huntington Gardens. I still can’t believe I get to marry my best friend!!