It's spring of 2019. Devin, a junior at Towson University studying electronic media and film, is at a concert in a little hole in the wall, dancing under multicolored lights to the jazz-funk of the band playing.

The drummer, Andrew, is in the zone. The lights are shining above him and he can feel the music move through him, out onto the stage. He's finishing up his master's Data Science, also at Towson University. He's played many shows before, but at the end of this one, he meets a small girl with a sharp wit, contagious laugh and heart-shaped face.

They have a mutual friend in the lead singer and get to chatting. She compliments his drumming style and how well they played. She's beautiful and he can't stop thinking about her.

A couple of weeks later, Devin is on Tinder, and she laughs to herself. She sees that Andrew is on Tinder too. He's a musician and he's cute. They match.

On their first date, they go to a pizza place in Hampton, a hip, artsy little neighborhood in Baltimore. It's a picturesque first date. Until it's time to go home.

Just before Andrew drives Devin home, they share their first kiss Hiatus Kaiyote’s Choose Your Weapon…and find that his car's battery is dead.

Andrew shakes his head sheepishly. The date was going so well. They have no way of getting home and it's pouring rain. Devin calls an Uber.

But it's just to get to her car. She has jumper cables and drives back to help jump-start his car. They plan for a second date.

Not soon after they ride off to New York City for a day. After a fun-packed day full of trips to a museum and a Broadway show, Andrew learns a few things about Devin. She’s down to earth, up for anything. During their first trip together he’s nervous, not so much because he didn’t know her well but because being with her feels so natural.

Two months in, Devin has learned a few things about Andrew. He loves to go on adventures, he's quick to laugh, and he's a romantic. They're on a train headed into Washington D.C. when he tells her he loves her.

It’s that very summer that Devin goes with Andrew to visit his dad in Hawaii. It’s an important trip for both of them. For Andrew, he gets to introduce Devin to more family, share certain ties to his Japanese heritage and his love of exploration.

For Devin, she gets to vacation with her boyfriend for the first time. It’s a whirlwind adventure that’s straight out of her favorite rom-com, 50 First Dates, only she'd remember this! It results in car rides all over the island and even both of them getting tattoos. They don’t match, but it’s the experience of sharing experiences that brings them closer than ever.

During the trip, Devin also sees Andrew at his most vulnerable. Right before Devin had landed in Hawaii, PopPop, Andrew’s grandfather passed away. When she lands, she takes Andrew’s loss in stride and is there for him in a way that amazes him. Her natural sensitivity paired with her sense of humor and lightness of self dazzles Andrew and helps him through the darkness.

In the fall, they visit NYC again and they find how important traveling is for them. It teaches them that they can rely on each other; for support, for adventure and for laughs as well as tears.

Less than a year later, the pandemic hits and they're inseparable. They move in together. They adopt Primrose, their three-legged cat. They're a family now.

But it's after their fourth anniversary that Andrew gets to planning. He conscripts Devin's friends and family to help him with something. He wants to marry her.

On August 6th, 2023, Andrew takes Devin to a farmer's market. Then a vineyard. Not a cloud in the sky. It's a beautiful, magical whirlwind of a day. Definitely not suspicious, Devin thinks. When they arrive at the botanical gardens in D.C., Andrew is nervous. He knows a friend of his is hidden somewhere, taking pictures of them. He touches his pocket. He's gotten Devin a ring that they've both talked about.

He takes a deep breath. Gets down on one knee and asks her. Tears spring into her eyes and she leaps into his arms. She says yes.

He knows how important Devin's family and friends are to her, so he conspires with them to surprise her; they're waiting for them at a brewery not far from them.

When Devin walks through the doors, she bursts into tears. Her mom and grandmother have driven up from North Carolina for this. Her dad, stepmom and siblings are clapping and rush to hug her. Both of their closest friends are brimming with joy, cheering.

Flashforward a little more than six years from that little hole in the wall, and Andrew is a 31-year-old data analyst, and Devin is a 27-year-old video editor. Their relationship has survived a pandemic, career changes and six moves. Prim now has a little sister, a black cat named Winston.

On Sept. 6, 2025, they're getting married, and they want you there to help them celebrate these six and a half years and all the years to follow.

Written by Andrea Durán, Maid of Honor to the bride, friend of the groom, and witness to most of this.