It was (probably) a brisk, sunny day. Spring has just begun, the flowers were blooming, and so was Kenzi's quest for love. There she was, lying in a bed of popcorn, mindlessly swiping on Tinder.


Suddenly, a fair maiden appeared -- so cool, so mysterious. Kenzi simply had to know more. As she scrolled through her profile she thought Wow, there are so little details on this profile. It only says 'let's get to know each other over dinner or drinks'


So Kenzi did what she had to. She went to her own profile, changed her bio to also say 'Let's get to know each other over dinner' then messaged Ciara. A little psychological trick of Kenzi's to make Ciara get the first impression that they were perfectly compatible. Looks like it worked.


Ciara and Kenzi first met up on March 12th, 2022 at Elgin Public House. Over dinner the couple spent the next few hours getting to know anything and everything about one another. From the start there was a level of trust and comfortability that allowed the two to bond without any fear or hesitation of saying the wrong thing. They could freely and openly discuss Kenzi's nerd love for board games, D&D, and protecting the environment; and Ciara's nerd love for learning random things, reading textbooks, and Rubik's cubing.


By the end of what was clearly a date , Ciara still had the nerve to ask, “Was this a date?” Because who knows, sometimes strangers set up dinner on a dating app because they want to be friends!! Thankfully, Kenzi said “Umm.. I would like it to be.” — the start of every classic love story.


From there, the two grew their bond while going on picnics, playing various video games, candle making, exploring downtown Chicago together and more until they made it official on April 9th, 2022.


As the months went on, their relationship became what could only be described as a series of discoveries of how they balance each other out along with constant reminders to themselves not to U-Haul. Kenzi's animated and expressive, Ciara's stoic and calm. Kenzi likes to be active, Ciara is a house cat. Kenzi's a heater, Ciara's an icicle. They just fit together!


A little after a year of being together the two came to the conclusion that they wanted to spend the rest of their life together. Everything they could ever have wanted in a partner they had already found in the other. During the summer of 2023 Kenzi and Ciara began their engagement ring search. They had so much fun going on this secret adventure together to find the perfect rings that they would get to keep close to them for the rest of eternity.


Kenzi had insisted on being the one to propose and so for the next two months Ciara had no idea when or how Kenzi would propose. She only knew that it was happening at some point - could've been the next day, could've been in a year, who knows? During this time, Kenzi faced the toughest challenge she has had to face in a long while: she had to keep a secret from Ciara.


September 12th, 2023 began like any normal Saturday. The couple fulfilled their recent sushi craving at their go-to place (Kura) followed by a trip to the mall. It wasn't until the couple got home that Ciara opened the door and found rose petals at her feet. It was actually happening! (Thanks Annaliese and Zack)


She continued walking down the main hallway through a Polaroid gallery of some of their favorite memories together. Once they reached the main living area there it was, hanging off a large custom-made tapestry: Ciara, will you marry me?

Then... blah blah blah... [insert sappy stuff, ya'll get it]. Ciara said Yes!


Now this is the part of the story where we realize we have written way too much so we'll wrap it up. Thank you for sticking around to read this long.


We cannot express our gratitude enough for all the people that have contributed to making us the people that we are today -- for teaching us how to be kind, how to be strong, how to have really good taste in music... the list goes on. It is these lessons you have given us that have laid the foundation for the upcoming establishment of the Sereno family :) We cannot wait to celebrate with you!