Brooke and Brandon met during their sophomore year at the University of Arizona in 2018. One of Brandon's roommates was friends with Brooke and her group of girlfriends, and when the girls were invited over for a wine night (on a random Wednesday, no less), Brandon was asked if he wanted to join. He said yes.

As the weekly wine nights continued, Brooke and Brandon naturally gravitated toward each other. Though time passed, the connection remained, and they reconnected during their junior year. For their first date, Brandon took Brooke to Obon Sushi in downtown Tucson, introducing her to his Friday night sushi tradition.

When the pandemic hit and the campus emptied out, Brooke and Brandon decided to stay at UofA to be together. Brandon would often skate across campus to visit Brooke in her dorm.

As spring semester came to an end, Brooke and Brandon headed home for the summer, but they kept in touch daily with texts and FaceTime calls. During the pandemic, they even introduced each other to their families over video chats. Although their senior year was mostly remote, they both returned to UofA for one last semester together.

A year into their relationship, Brooke and Brandon were reminiscing about how they first met. Brooke had always thought that Brandon and his roommates had planned to live together, given they all came from Coronado Hall their freshman year. But in an unexpected twist, Brandon’s roommate situation had been randomly assigned. Originally, he was supposed to live with three of his friends from the Bay Area at Sol and Luna, but when arriving on move-in day, they were told they'd been split into pairs. Brandon ended up living with the very roommate that Brooke and her friends knew—and it all seemed to fall perfectly into place.

In June 2021, Brooke and Brandon moved into their first apartment together in Chandler, AZ. They settled into their careers and began building their life together side by side.

For their 5-year anniversary, Brandon planned a special trip with Brooke to Carmel, CA—one of his favorite childhood spots. The trip was the first time they’d traveled by plane for a romantic getaway and despite a rough drive through San Jose, they made it to Carmel-by-the-Sea. They spent the day wine tasting in town, then headed to Carmel Valley Ranch, where Brandon had stayed as a kid. When they arrived at their room, Brooke knew a gift was coming, but she had no idea what was in store.

As Brandon told her to close her eyes (a trick he often used for unwrapped presents), Brooke opened them to find him down on one knee. In that moment, the world seemed to stop. They immediately called their families to share the news, spending the weekend celebrating together before announcing their engagement to the world.

Looking back, there are so many moments where it feels like fate played a role—but one thing is clear: it was all meant to be. As we look toward the future, we are so excited for all the adventures ahead.