Mario and Ede first met in 2010 at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in freshman biology. They sat on opposite sides of the room from each other and were both in the instrumental music department. They knew of each other and had mutual friends but did not really interact with each other until junior year.

They reunited in Summer 2012 at the Washington Jazz Arts Institute under the direction of their high school jazz band director Davey Yarborough (the officiant). Ede was a new member of the jazz camp and had little jazz knowledge. Mario was a more advanced student, so Mr. Yarborough had Mario teach Ede basic jazz skills. They spent time together in lessons, and the roots of their friendship began.

Their friendship continued to grow during the school year when Ede and Mario discovered they had 11th grade English together. They sat next to each other in class and had jazz classes together. As the year went on, their relationship changed from casual friends to best friends. What started as casual conversations about English homework grew to discussions about the world and their personal values. This is when their friendship blossomed into romance.

Ede was the first one to realize her feelings, and in typical teenage girl fashion, she dropped hints to Mario. She tried everything from playing with her hair to laughing at all his jokes to finding any excuse to be his partner in class. But alas... in typical teenage boy fashion, Mario didn't get the hint (or so she thought).

Ede was about to give up. Then Mario asked her if she wanted to hang out and go to a baseball game. In a previous conversation, Ede mentioned to Mario that she had never been to a baseball game and wanted to go. Mario planned a friendly outing for the two of them. They watched the baseball game and had such a good time that they extended their outing and went to the National Portrait Gallery and enjoyed McDonald's ice cream.

Throughout the hangout, both Ede and Mario were questioning if the other had mutual feelings. At the train station (Fort Totten), they hugged and said their goodbyes they almost leaned in for a kiss, but Ede panicked and said she had to catch her bus, and they went their separate way. Once they were home, they were both feeling butterflies and knew they had something special. Later that evening, during their nightly text conversation, they confessed their feelings for each other.

On April 14 2013, Mario and Ede began their relationship. Little did they know, 11 years later, on April 14, 2024, they would become husband and wife.