In April of 2020, Elizabeth was gearing up for her final exams to cap off her first year of law school, Michael had recently rescued a puppy from ASPCA, and a global pandemic had hit the U.S. only a month prior. So naturally it was the absolute best time for us to connect on a dating app.

We hit it off immediately. Our first date was supposed to involve a brief phone call followed by watching a movie "together," but we ended up talking for three hours until Michael suggested (much to Elizabeth's delight given the surprise nature of the suggestion) that we should FaceTime each other. Our second date was an 8-hour marathon phone call/FaceTime that neither of us wanted to end until 4:00 AM demanded we both get some sleep.

Elizabeth finished her exams a few weeks after we connected and we went on our first real in-person date. On May 12, 2020, we went to Meso Maya, which became a staple restaurant of ours, and had an amazing time. We went back to Michael's house, Elizabeth met Freckles, and then we embarked on a game of Monopoly (which Elizabeth won).

We officially began dating on May 21, 2020, and we were nearly inseparable until Elizabeth left for Salt Lake City in early July 2020 for a summer internship. We talked on the phone and over FaceTime every day. Michael came out to Salt Lake for a week to visit Elizabeth, go to Lake Powell, and meet the Nielson clan.

In August 2020, Elizabeth transferred to SMU Dedman School of Law and Michael, having graduated from law school in 2014, was there by her side to help out in whatever ways he could. We moved in together on December 11, 2020 and got engaged over a pistachio soufflé at Rise, our favorite French restaurant in Dallas, the very next day. And so, we began building the wonderful, loving home we have today with Freckles (our doggo) and Phoebe (our cat, and realistically the most important part of our household). The vast majority of 2021 and 2022 were taken up by Elizabeth focusing on (with Michael's help) and absolutely crushing law school, graduating in May of 2022 Summa Cum Laude.

We moved to Salt Lake City shortly after Elizabeth graduated and bought our first home together in Sugarhouse in June of 2022. After Elizabeth took (and, again, crushed) the Bar Exam at the end of July 2022, we went on an amazing post-bar vacation to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam.

We began serious wedding planning in October of 2022 and did a glamorous engagement photo shoot capturing the glorious fall colors of Utah before the leaves changed color and the snow covered everything in a seemingly-permanent layer of white.

We are so excited to celebrate our love with you—our closest friends and family—in Tulum, Mexico in May. Cheers!

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