The story of us began on an app called Coffee meets Bagel. Neither of us actually drink coffee or routinely eat bagels. I (George) saw that Loi had only one profile picture but decided to overlook this red flag because she was cute with a nice smile and decided to take a chance. As luck would have it, it was a Match!

Loi is into photography and after sending her a series of my mountain selfies from hiking around Phoenix she eventually agreed to have dinner with me in January of 2023. Our first date! I was totally on time but not according to Loi, who maintains I was late by 5 minutes to this day. We both thought the other person was a bit shy but she later told me she decided to give me a second date because she liked my eyelashes.

Our second date definitely did not go according to plan even though my eyelash game was strong. I brought her to my favorite hot pot place and arrived on time as usual. Things were going well when her entire family crashed our date! (they also love hot pot!). As I met her parents, I thought she must really like me to be moving this fast but later found out she was absolutely horrified at the chance encounter as she did not tell her parents she was dating, oops! But once we overcame the awkwardness of the family-style second date, nothing could stop us!

Fast forward two and a half years of hiking, eating, and travelling adventures, we grew closer with each moment spent together. In the summer of 2025, while we were exploring the natural beauty of Banff in Canada, I had the brilliant idea of proposing on top of a mountain! I convinced her to go on a 12 mile hike with 2,400ft elevation gain which almost backfired as she wanted to turn back multiple times, but fortunately due to my constant persuasion that the destination will be “worth it”, she made it to the top! With an amazing view overlooking Lake Louise, I got down on one knee, almost dropped the ring over the cliff, asked her to marry me, and she said YES!