Little did we know that our story started seventeen years ago when a twelve year old Sean and an eight year old Autumn regularly found themselves at the same baseball complexes, football fields, and backyard bonfires. Sean quickly became best friends with Autumn's older brother, Jordan, after years of being opponents, teammates, and classmates. Autumn, oftentimes, found herself as the younger sister who was brought along to all the events the older siblings were involved in. As is the case in childhood, our social lives and social circles were determined by our schedules. It did not take long for our families to draw closer to one another as games and practices always turned into backyard barbecues and late nights full of s'mores and laughter.

As each of us grew into our own, we had a funny way of maintaining a distant friendship. Sean and the older siblings paved the way through middle and high school at Bednarcik and Oswego East. Autumn, her friends, and the rest of the younger siblings would follow in their footsteps, making their own mark on both places. By the time high school ended for Sean and the "bigs", as they are affectionately called by their mothers, the friend group shared holidays together in addition to their usual gatherings. As kids grew into young adults and college decisions were made by all, the group spent less time together which made those get-togethers even more meaningful for us. We began looking forward to these opportunities to catch up and reconnect as we grew from kids into adults with similar dreams, goals, visions, and values.

Neither of us expected it but both of us secretly hoped that the stars and our lives would align. In the Summer of 2022 they did, and the two of us haven't looked back since. As we have merged our lives together over the last two years, our favorite places (Aurora, Princeton, Wheaton, Chicago, Boulder City, and Las Vegas) haven't changed and neither have their favorite people (family and friends). Since our engagement on May 20th of 2022, we have been blessed with a life full of love and bliss as we prepare for our big day and the start of our forever. We are grateful for friends that are like family and for friends that become family. The two of us couldn't be more thankful for all of you, the people who have made us who we are today.

We are excited to celebrate with you all in July and for the rest of our lives!

-Sean & Autumn