The world shut down... but Amber and Gavin found each other on OKCupid and started getting to know each other from a distance. They sent each other a lot of cat pictures while working from home and quickly bonded over hour long discussions of their favorite book series (shoutout to Brandon Sanderson for sparking the fire of this love story).

Gavin and Amber became quickly inseparable and spent hours on Zoom and discord dates bonding over their shared love of puzzles and games. It should have been obvious they were falling in love when they had four dates a day! Between playing games, watching Lord of the Rings, sharing books, learning to play magic, and obsessively completing Hunt-a-killer boxes, they rarely spent any time apart!

The world was still shut down, but Gavin and Amber spent time exploring the desert, going camping, and finding large rocks to climb and drive over. Gavin started working on his Masters degree while Amber entered the final phase of her Ph.D. These desert explorations and camping trips helped them both stay sane!

They hadn't been dating for long, but they both knew where this relationship was heading! Gavin and Amber decided to move in together, and soon after bought a house in Tucson. Settling down wasn't scary at all (even during Halloween season).

Gavin and Amber celebrated their one-year anniversary in Washington D.C. It would be a year of big events, including their first trip to the Arizona Renaissance Fair (where they bought matching engagement rings), seeing Amber's favorite band in person (Evanescence), meeting each other's parents, and completing a ridiculous number of escape rooms.

Gavin and Amber took their first international trip together, starting by visiting Disneyworld and ending with an unforgetable trip to Iceland. In Iceland, Gavin and Amber proposed to each other. Gavin proposed while they were exploring a cave under the midnight sun and Amber proposed on a whale watching boat tour. They came back from Iceland ready to begin the rest of their lives together (officially).

Amber and Gavin finally graduated from their graduate programs in 2023 and finally got to enjoy life outside of school! They traveled to new places (NOLA & Kansas), attended some amazing shows (hello Beetlejuice & Heilung), built new furniture, explored more wildnerness retreats, and continued to build their lives together while taking their sweet time to plan the wedding of their dreams.

Amber and Gavin are thrilled to have their family and friends attend their long expected party at the desert museum this October. It will be nerdy!