It was my senior year of college. I had my last class right on the same night as the holiday party. I had my portfolio, my art supplies, my poster for my art class and my backpack with me. I looked like a pack mule. I saw a man about my age sitting at a table by himself at the party. On a whim I dropped my stuff onto the table next to him and asked if the seat was taken.

We started talking and I learned his name was Edwin. He noticed and asked about the poster I had made for class which was about my experiences of going to Singapore. It was a great ice breaker. We found out we had many interests in common. I had to leave for class, but when I came back to the table he was still sitting there.

We hit it off immediately. We exchanged numbers that night, and ended up meeting up at the on-campus cafe the next day. We decided to start dating right there.

The next few years are a blur. I stepped outside my comfort zone as she took me on adventure after adventure. Eventually she and her mom moved down to the Cape, but our relationship never faltered. Weekends on the Cape became my standard routine.

I knew I wanted to marry her long before I proposed. We'd talked about it, and I already had the ring, but the time never seemed right.

Emily is nuts about Downton Abbey, so when the traveling exhibition came to Boston in July 2019 she asked to stay over at my place so we could see it together. I decided the time had come, and managed to sneak the ring into my backpack before we went. The exhibit was wonderful, and afterwards I convinced her to take a walk in the Public Gardens. There, right on the path, I dropped to one knee. She made me the happiest man alive when she said yes.

COVID 19 hit our relationship hard. Edwin had to stop coming down to the Cape. We resorted to using Zoom to stay connected as did many couples in the world. During that time we started playing Dungeons & Dragons which we're still playing today. That helped keep our relationship strong.

As the lock-downs ended we took our relationship to the next level by moving into an apartment together on the Cape. We really started to plan our wedding at that point. And now we want to welcome you all to celebrate with us!!