“Why aren’t you dancing?”

This simple question - only 4 words, asked from one to another late on September 26, 2013 in a hole-in-the-wall townie bar on State Street in Madison, WI - is how the greatest love story of our generation* started.

*Opinions may vary (but we’re right)

After some on and off dating while we finished up school, Alex called James and said she’d be moving out to Seattle to start her career. To Alex’s great surprise, James leapt at the opportunity to join her in the Pacific Northwest. On August 30th, 2015, we started the next chapter of our life together in a 360 sq. ft. apartment right next to Seattle’s Pike Place Market. We ended up falling in love with Seattle, staying for 5 years (we ditched the tiny studio ASAP), while we continued falling in love with each other. Our time in Seattle also saw us adopt our cat, Lily, and two dogs, Bella and Pepper, growing our family to where it stands today.

In November 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, the two of us were quite tired of working out of our one bedroom apartment in Seattle, so we made the bittersweet choice to pack up our life and relocate from Seattle to Denver. Since being in Denver, we’ve bought a house, completed our MBA’s, and took the next step in our journey together - getting engaged!

Although the planning started much earlier, on June 17th 2023, James planned a dinner and date night at Union Station in Denver to celebrate Alex’s recent promotion. James was oddly antsy throughout dinner, and rushed them through their meal despite Alex’s pleas for another glass of wine. Once dinner was over, we walked outside to the plaza outside Union Station, and to Alex’s great surprise, James pulled the ring from his pocket and got down on one knee! James was so nervous he barely said more than “Alex, will you marry me?” (and maybe not even that much…) but Alex was more than ready to say yes!

As a surprise, James had coordinated a photographer to capture the special moment, and even had Alex’s sister and a friend from Minnesota ready to see her after he popped the question. Of course - many, many happy tears were shed. But the fun didn’t stop there! James told Alex they were going across the street to meet a few family members for celebratory drinks - but little did she know he had also planned a surprise party for her along with about 40 of our closest Denver friends and family members, including a few more surprise guests from Minnesota! To say she was surprised (again) is an understatement, but after the initial shock and additional happy tears were taken care of, we had a great time that night celebrating our engagement and each other.

Now, we’re incredibly excited to continue writing the greatest love story of our generation* with all of you in one of our favorite cities - New Orleans, Louisiana! We wouldn’t be where we are today without the endless love and support of our friends and family, and we can’t wait to show every one of you who has joined us on this wild ride a fantastic time in October 2024!

*Now that you’ve read our story, we’re sure you will agree