It's hard to believe we've known each other for almost half of our lives! We met in middle school, and although we had several classes together and many mutual friends, we hardly talked or spent time with each other.

Fast forward to the summer before our freshman year of high school, where, for some reason, we caught each other's attention more. What started as short getting-to-know-you texts turned into deep, meaningful conversations everyday. Although we were young, we soon realized we shared a lot of similarities in what we wanted out of our lives.

We began officially dating in May of 2014. Over the years, we've traveled together, grown together, and endlessly supported one another. We've transitioned from high fives in our middle school hallway to ice skating dates to celebrating holidays with each other's families to traveling to graduating from high school and college and to starting our graduate degrees (Julia in law and John as a PhD student in engineering). It's been pretty obvious to everyone around us that we've been nearly inseparable since the beginning!

We took our first big step and moved in together in October of 2023. Just a couple weeks after, John got down on one knee, opened an elegant black lacquered jewelry box traced with mother of pearl, and proposed to Julia. It was perfect, intimate, and everything we both wanted.

We're excited to celebrate our special day with our beloved family and friends! It's been a long time coming!