On a balmy midsummer eve in July 2007, amid the carefree chatter and banter of a backyard house party, Dave noticed a beautiful young woman sitting on the far side of the deck, busily typing away on her cell phone. Leaning over to his friend Blake (his Best Man) and slightly nodding towards her, he said, “See that girl over there? She’s really pretty, but she looks like she’s got some serious attitude.” Mustering up the courage to take a chance on a girl out of his league, he slowly walked over and took a seat beside her. “You aren’t gonna have any fun if you sit here on your phone all night.” Ali looked up at him with a “And who the heck are you?” expression, but she suffered Dave through the introductions, and he secured a phone number. It turned out, they had lived their entire lives a quarter mile from each other. What started as a friendship quickly blossomed into a young romance full of fun, humor, and countless stories.

After two years together, Ali and Dave parted ways in search of a healthy dose of maturity (although they didn’t know it at the time). The “winter” of their story lasted for nearly four and a half years, marked by intermittent calls and text messages, especially when one of them needed someone they knew they could trust for advice, help, or just to share good news. (Or whenever one of them had a twin sister who needed help editing her dental school admissions essay.) Fittingly, on the spring evening of May 6, 2014, Ali and Dave met for dinner at Busboys and Poets. The bond they shared returned instantaneously, stronger than ever before.

On October 21, 2017, as Dave and Ali enjoyed a leisurely walk along the High Line in Manhattan, they took a seat on a nearby bench to take in the moment. The High Line was originally built to be a freight railway, then after a century of use, was abandoned and fell into disrepair for decades. Despite plans for its demolition, it was instead transformed into a new, more beautiful version of itself as an urban park for pedestrians. Recounted its story to Ali, Dave reflected on the symbolic parallels to their relationship, dropped down on one knee, and asked her to marry him. Never one to enjoy public spectacles, Ali’s response was frantic: “Yes, YES, Get up, PLEASE JUST GET UP!”

Almost twelve years after that first summer night in 2007, Ali and Dave are making “official” (in the eyes of God, the state, and their grandmothers) what they have known to be true for so many years: that they have an unique bond founded on shared values, honesty, a healthy (if juvenile, at times) sense of humor, and a deep and genuine love for each other.