In the winter of 2018, our paths crossed on Tinder, a dating app once used by real people. He was a student, determined to finish school this go-round. A quiet introvert, obsessed with cooking perfect pasta sauces and riding his motorcycle. She was a bubbly and adventurous girl, decidedly extroverted. A master’s student, who equally loved vegetables and hotdogs with all her heart, and up to try anything once. We didn’t know it at the time, but we had found in the other a lifeline.

A nervous meeting in a dimly lit pub, a spark, some shared interests and experiences, jokes landed and laughs exchanged- we soon formed a connection that went deeper than either of us ever expected. Initially, we both kept the same secret from each other; like many millennials, we were living at home with our moms. Once that was out in the open, instead of feeling embarrassed for not being where we wanted to be at that stage of our lives, this helped to close the gap between us. We may have matched each other on an app, but we discovered that we matched each other in so many other important ways as well.

We fell deeply in love over the next few months of 2019, as we explored our common ground and introduced each other to our families and the things we were passionate about. This sharing, teaching, loving and learning from each other only strengthened our connection. Whether enduring life’s most difficult lessons and losses, or celebrating joyful moments, we’ve learned we do it better together.

Since that chance pairing 7 years ago, we’ve explored the world, leapt from airplanes together, road tripped across state lines together, broke some bones but never our promises, reached our goals and set our sights on new ones.

In 2026, we’re going to make this thing of ours official. We’re so glad you’re here. Welcome to the wedding.

Splaurencer 4 ever. Swipe right.