Joel's Version: We can't quite remember the exact moment, that it happened, but we know we were five years old, Valeria being a few months older. She probably waved her italian flag around as I played with my ninja turtles van, which she's still trying to get rid of to this day.

The truth is, Valeria and I had very different school experiences even though we were in the same classroom most of the time. To easily explain it with a food chain analogy, she'd be a Lioness and I'd be Vegetarian.

But although at opposite ends of the social spectrum at the time, there were some brief encounters in our 10 year joint scholar experience. Although very few and far between. I remember a couple, but I'll talk about the fact that even back then, she was getting me to give her gifts!

My friends and I co-founded a radio station at our school, very quickly it gained so much momentum, that we got a sponsor. My dad's company. Well, every Friday during lunch recess, we would give out a CD to the first person to run all the way upstairs and answer a trivia question. One time the question, or rather the answer got us banned from the radio for a month, but this other time, it gave me the opportunity to hand my future wife a Britney Spears CD.

Years later, as I traveled I noticed that Val Chriqui had commented on a picture of mine....I was amazed, so I quickly answered. It led to sporadic conversations, and one thanksgiving visit in Boston, but being we lived 3000 miles away, everything was very platonic. Some years and mistakes later, we reconnected in person again, in not other than Miami, Florida.

In Miami we have shared many things, mostly bottles of wine. Now, I can't wait to see her walking towards me as we embark on this awesome adventure of life together, sharing moments that become memories and stories. I can't wait to celebrate this first official moment as husband and wife, in the city that helped bring us together.