As many of you know, Helen and Chris grew up down the street from each other in Tustin, California. Helen’s first memory of Chris was from a neighborhood Fourth of July block party in 2007 (pictured), where she quickly developed a crush. Little did she know later that day Chris ran home saying, “I just saw the cutest girl!”

Over the years, Helen and Chris kept in touch through social media and occasional run-ins all which resulted in Chris running home saying, “I just saw the cutest girl!” At the same time, Helen’s mom, Dorothee, and Chris’ mom, Lisa, became friends.

In 2021, Chris was finishing medical school and prepping to move to Denver, Colorado for residency. Chris had just a couple weeks to spend at home and used this as an opportunity to finally make a move with a little help from his mom. Lisa reached out to Dorothee, and they came up with a master plan: a Memorial Day barbecue between the two families. Helen and Chris hit it off right away, and could not keep their eyes off each other, so much so it made Chris’ sister, Alana, “uncomfortable.”

Two days later, Helen and Chris had their first unsupervised date at Honda-Ya where they sat and talked for four hours. At the end of the night, Chris ran home and said, “I am going to marry that girl.”

For the next two weeks, Helen and Chris saw each other almost every day. When it came time for Chris to leave, both were uncertain about what would happen next. Confident in the way they felt and unwilling to let things fizzle out however, Helen and Chris decided to take a chance dating long distance and did so for the following nine months until they moved in together in March of 2022. On September 9th of that year, Chris proposed while they were vacationing in Cinque Terre, Italy. Helen faked her surprise (Chris is bad at lying and Helen is bad at not asking questions), and they spent the evening eating Italian seafood and wandering the streets of Monterosso with gelatos in hand.

Today, Helen and Chris are still in disbelief they get to marry their childhood crush. On August 24th, 2024, the two will vow to spend the rest of their lives together and cannot be more excited to celebrate and share this moment with all the people they love the most.

#infortheLonghaul