Dan and Jess met one fateful spring break during their sophomore year of college at The University of Texas at Austin. While the rest of the UT students had gone to South Padre Island to drink cheap beer on a beach, we both decided to stay in Austin to volunteer at the SXSW film & music festival. On the first day of break, Jess was enjoying lunch and a Texas Tea with her sorority sisters at good 'ole Cain & Abels (IYKYK). While enjoying their meal, Connie mentioned that her friend Dan would be stopping by to borrow her car keys. Dan's high school buddies were in town for the week and they needed to stock up on snacks and beer (our lawyer asked us to note that we do not condone underage drinking).

Not thinking anything more of it, the girls went back to catching up. But when Dan swung by to pick up the keys, he didn't just grab them and go. In typical Dan fashion, he sat down to chat and get to know some potential new friends. It was at this very moment that Jess became smitten (and same goes for Dan). Once they were done talking and Dan said his goodbyes before heading to H.E.B., he invited the ladies to his apartment for a pre-game party that evening with his friends.

That night the ladies made their way over to meet up with the guys - who were totally sober when they arrived and definitely had not been playing beer pong all day. The entire group then drank lots of water and all went home at a reasonable hour. They definitely did not take the bus down to 6th Street in downtown Austin, drink more and all get separated and individually have to find their way home at 2am when the bars closed. There are definitely no alleged stories from that night of a certain groomsman roaming the grounds of the state capitol or finding himself on the balcony of the Driskoll Hotel. Nope definitely didn't happen.

Regardless of what may or may not have transpired, that night was the beginning of something much bigger. Little did Dan or Jess know, it would turn into a 10 year relationship. They had no idea it would lead to them adopting too many animals - including their beloved black lab Bo. They had no idea that it would initially bring them to LA before they eventually moved cross-country to NYC (in an RV with all of their pets). And they had no idea it would lead to Dan getting down on one knee in their favorite spot in Central Park in front of their entire family.

We are so excited to get married in Ireland and begin this next phase of life with all of our favorite people. Hope to see you there!