Our story starts in April of 2005, almost 20 years ago. Ariann had just returned to Chico from out of the country. She spent the prior 6 months studying abroad in Finland and traveling throughout eastern Europe. She had no intention of getting into a relationship, at all, in fact, she was looking to stay away from relationships for a while.

Cory had spent the past few years in Chico, going to Chico State and working hard to pay his way. He also managed to find time to see friends and go out to parties. Him and his good friend Ben had started hanging out with a crew of girls. This also happened to be the same crew of girls that Ariann lived with prior to leaving the country, and reunited with after returning.

Thanks to these mutual friends, they were introduced to each other for the first time at The Bear. The sparks flew during this brief meeting. Luckily, it wasn’t difficult for them to meet again. And again. And again. Soon the casual going out to party together turned into much more.

Ariann loved that Cory did not shy away from the dance floor, even when the song was Shania Twain's "Man, I feel like a Woman". Later that evening Cory and Ariann shared their first kiss, but by the time Cory opened his eyes, he saw she had dashed out the door and was passing by the window. Even though neither of them were looking for love at that time, there feelings for each other couldn't be stopped.

The following year was 2006, and they both graduated from Chico State. Ariann moved home to San Diego the following year to get a job as that was a priority. Cory stuck around Chico and they tested their relationship during this brief separation. The separation didn’t last long as they realized they both wanted to be together and they just needed to decide which one of them was going to have to move.

Missing Northern California, and tiring of Southern California, Ariann was willing to move back to Chico. She also knew Cory would not be happy in the city, for reasons that were hard to argue with. She moved back to Chico in 2007 and landed a Human Resources job in Chico (kind of a miracle) and she still works for the same company today. Cory managed to get out of the restaurant industry and started working for Habitat for Humanity in 2013. Working for a non-profit was a perfect fit and he hasn’t left since.

Holding steady jobs allowed them the freedom to enjoy their life and nurture their relationship. They spent every weekend doing something they enjoyed, usually involving the outdoors, music, sports, or all of the above. They took awesome vacations, visiting the Caribbean where Ariann’s parents lived on a sailboat, visiting Maui with friends, and Italy with friends, creating wonderful memories and living the dream. They both knew life would never get any easier than this.

In 2015, Cory and Ariann decided it was time to buy a house and they made their home in Chico. During that same year, they decided to start trying for kids. Big year! Getting pregnant wasn’t easy, and staying pregnant was even harder, but they finally gave birth to Zephyr on July 21, 2020, during the height of COVID and California wildfires. That didn’t scare them away though. When Zephyr turned 1 they decided to try for another baby. Dax was born on September 1, 2022.

Somehow having a wedding always got swept to the side. First the priority was just to enjoy life (which we did!), then the priority was buying a house (we spent our wedding money on a down payment), then the priority was having kids (that took forever). Well, now we have taken care of all of our priorities. Now it’s time to celebrate our relationship and make it official, and we are doing it just in time before completing 20 years of life together!