…October 2012.

At the time, Alfredo and Barrett were bright-eyed university students. Alfredo had just returned to Houston from studying animation at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) to instead pursue a degree in Public Relations at University of Houston. As an English major, Barrett was applying for entry into University of Houston's celebrated Creative Writing undergraduate program.

To make ends meet, Barrett worked in a cinema box office near his parents' home. Rachael Matthews, a lovable cinephile, was a regular customer and mutual friend of both Alfredo and Barrett.

Alfredo and Rachael knew each other from high school. Barrett knew Rachael as his movie-buff friend who lit up the cinema with every visit.

Rachael began bringing Alfredo around the box office and… the rest is history. As both boys texted Rachael about the other, she finally gave them the green light they each needed: "Text him!" she urged them both.

Alfredo and Barrett began dating on December 2, 2012.

Through the tail-end of university, through first apartments, a dog, career liftoffs and shifts, weddings, funerals, and more, Alfredo and Barrett have been each other's north stars for over a decade.

When Alfredo was a child, his family traveled to London where, among other things, they saw Mary Poppins on the West End at the Prince Edward Theatre. The magic, the storytelling, the smoke and mirrors of live theatre, all solidified Alfredo's lifelong love of the stage.

Fast forward about 15 years: The West End revival of Mary Poppins was in the works -- at the very same theatre Alfredo saw the original so many years before.

Over dinner at Empire Café in Montrose, Alfredo and Barrett made plans for a trip abroad to London and Paris, the crown jewel of the jaunt being an evening at the Prince Edward to see the revival of Mary Poppins, with their friend Delaney joining them for the journey.

With tickets purchased and plans in motion, Barrett [secretly] reached out to the theatre to upgrade their tickets from standard to VIP, placing them closer to the stage, complete with a pre-performance private champaign reception in the Amadeus Room under the grand staircase.

It was there, about 20 minutes to curtain, that Barrett popped the Q on October 28, 2019, with Delaney's clandestine camerawork capturing the moment.

Back when Alfredo was studying animation at SCAD, he met a classmate named Lilly while attending a student production of Spring Awakening. The night they met at the theatre, Alfredo introduced Lilly to his roommate, Josh.

Alfredo and Barrett attended Lilly and Josh's gorgeous wedding in Savannah, Georgia in 2015.

Although they remained close, save for Alfredo's time studying at SCAD, Alfredo and Barrett, and Lilly and Josh, never lived in the same city until life brought Alfredo and Barrett to New York City in 2021.

So, after a lengthy hold on account of a global pandemic, Alfredo and Barrett finally tied the knot in a private ceremony in New York City on their tenth anniversary, December 2, 2022, proud to have had Lilly attend as their witness and photographer.