Justin lived in Bellingham at the time while I was finishing my Senior year at Saint Martins University. Despite my busy weekends, he offered to meet me in Lacey for dinner on a Wednesday night.

Since this was my first in-person date with someone I met online, I was too anxious to eat all day. I arrived at the restaurant early enough to buy donuts from a nearby Safeway and ate them in my car to calm my nerves and avoid my stomach from grumbling during dinner. When I saw his car pull into the parking lot, I called him to say I was five minutes away, even though I had already been waiting there for almost an hour, giving myself a pep talk.

Once we officially met, Justin made me feel at ease. He looked even more handsome in-person. We decided to get pho, and when he ordered the bowl with everything in it, I knew we would get along. Our conversation flowed effortlessly, even diving into topics people would usually avoid on a first date. He was brilliant, observant, and generous with his laughter. As the night went on, I began feeling very different from the girl nervously eating donuts in her car and more like the best version of myself.

I used to find it corny when couples claimed an instant connection, but I walked out of the restaurant fully aware we had become a cliché.

Our love has continued to blossom over years of sharing yummy food, unhinged belly laughs, fun dates, roadtrips, hundreds of NYT puzzles, nine international adventures, two apartment leases with our cat Neeko, and one story that led to our proposal in November of 2023. We’re thrilled to have everyone join us on our special day.

His Perspective:

After UW, I moved up north to Bellingham – my first time truly leaving the Seattle bubble. In a new place surrounded by unfamiliar people, I decided to give Bumble a shot, hoping to meet someone new. Little did I know, my soulmate lived 150 miles in the opposite direction.

On one serendipitous day in the fall of 2017, I matched with Cleo while we both happened to be in the Seattle area. When I scrolled through her pictures, I remember raising my eyebrows and thinking about how cute she was. Fortunately for me, she must have thought the same, because she sent me the first message.

In true millenial fashion, we started with small talk, advanced to Snapchat, and then graduated to texting and Facetimes. After a couple weeks, I was already head over heels for her and mustered up the courage to ask her to meet in-person. We chose a pho restaurant in Lacey. A FIRST DATE AND NOODLES? My dreams were coming true.

I planned our dinner on the same day my company asked me to run a booth at a UW career fair. After the event was over, I braved the I-5 South traffic, past the notorious Tacoma construction, all the way down to exit 109. My heart and mind were racing the entire way. Once I arrived, I spotted a girl sitting in a seafoam green Chevy out of the corner of my eye. I suspected it was Cleo but I played it cool, pretending not to notice.

After taking a deep breath, I made my way to the front of the restaurant and then received a call from her telling me she was 5 minutes away (she was already there). Cleo walked up, beautiful as ever. We both had big smiles on our faces as I opened my arms for a hug and she raised her hand for a shake. We settled on a hug and walked inside.

In person, we picked up our conversation just where we had left off, exchanging life stories as we filled our bellies with pho and crab rangoons. She was stunning, smart, thoughtful, and curious. She was magnetic. I felt as if I had known her for years already. Although I was stuffed to the brim, we both wanted to prolong the date and got bubble tea.

The night eventually settled in, and I had to make the trek back to Bellingham. Before I left, I looked her in the eyes, and we shared our first kiss. On the drive back home, I was grinning cheek to cheek, knowing that I had met someone truly special.

From that day forth, we have become inseparable, constantly sharing our love for life, family, friends, food, silliness, and adventure.

In late 2022, I began formulating plans to propose, enlisting the help of her siblings to help me choose the ring and keep my secret safe. Around a year later, on a warm, sunny evening on a hilltop in Nice, France, I asked Cleo to marry me.