Like so many young modern couples, we met through the internet. After facing a couple minor hiccups on the road to our first date after a few weeks of getting to know each other virtually (Tori vanished for a week shortly before as she recovered from a nasty case of tonsilitis; Jake managed to get himself locked in the parking garage across the street from Tori's place on the night of the date and took over an hour to get out), once we finally met in person we very quickly bonded over some quality Chinese food, a few bottles of wine, and some Lego Star Wars on the PS5. Jake offered to come over again to make Tori some soup, which she accepted as Jake spent a large portion of the first date hyping up his cooking skills (the soup was really good and won her heart).

The dates continued following the first few weeks, with Jake spending more and more time at Tori's. When the end of Jake's lease came around, the next step for us was for Jake to move in with Tori (and Falcon and Sparrow, our beloved daughters). We have since shared plenty of adventures together, some big and some small, from getting dressed up in fantasy garb and going to the Renaissance festival and finding cute, cozy Airbnb's in little towns like Shepherdstown, to flying to Norway in the peak of the cold, dark season to get engaged in February of '24, a year to the day from when we met. Norway's salmon sushi, reindeer hot dogs, views of fjords and historic buildings around a thousand years old made for an unforgettable experience, but no moment was as special as when we exchanged the rings we had purchased not-so-secretly a few months prior at a frozen-over waterfall, parked on the side of a road because the trail was closed off.

Now, we're living in our second apartment together, one floor down and a long hallway away from our first. We've both switched jobs at least once since meeting, supporting each other with each transition to the next big career thing. Falcon and Sparrow are still doing great, and we still do plenty of fun stuff together, from sharing Netflix shows and YouTube videos over dinner, to multi-hour board game nights with friends, to finding new restaurants and places to explore on the streets of Washington DC and beyond. This wedding has been a huge focus for us, and we can't wait to have you all here to celebrate!