We originally met through Bumble in February of 2021 , and after almost dropping the ball by not asking her out (Thank you Aric for telling me to 'Just invite her to dinner, idiot'), decided on a first date.

Being the tremendous planner and researcher I am, we initially met in the abandoned parking lot in front of a very-closed TRATA for our first date. After apologizing profusely and accepting my first big strike before the date even started, we went to The Gate House down the street and sat down for dinner and talking. Things went well from there, as we sat there until the restaurant closed, getting to know each other, talking about our likes and dislikes, and having a pretty good time all things considered.

We talked about our mutual love of kitties, our careers, her immense collection of mortar-and-pestles, my borderline unhealthy obsession with Star Wars and LEGOs, her relatively new experiences of living alone in the Rochester area, and my love of cooking, among other things. It was the last one that brought us to our second date - me cooking for her; and subsequently many dates thereafter.

Our first 'I Love You' was at Easter, when during an Easter egg scavenger hunt at her apartment, she had hidden the phrases 'I Love You' and 'I Know' in two of the eggs. We'll let you decide who makes more sense as Leia and Han in that scene.

In the four years we've been together we've dealt with having to deal with my child (Julius, my cat, just to be clear) not initially accepting her but finally warming up after all these cold years, starting to travel and explore new places together, navigate her at-night work schedule and arrange our lives so that we can still enjoy life together, moving into my old house and making it work while simultaneously looking for a new place to call OURS, purchasing a house together that we have made our home, and dealing with the consequences of her Cancer diagnosis; and I can happily say she is currently Cancer-free.

Through all of that, one thing has remained constant - we love each other deeply and are happily taking this next step forward and becoming part of each other's families.

We are thrilled and excited to be able to celebrate this with all of you.