We met in February of 2017 at the grand opening party at Authentic Tattoo. Jared worked there as an apprentice under Tex Buss, who is also married to my (Melissa) cousin, Niles.

Tex had been planning to introduce us for a few months after Jared complained that there weren't any "cool girls" in SF and only "girly girls." Tex told him she had a "tomboy" cousin to meet and introduced us at the party.

We became fast friends and started dating. We went to lots of Giants baseball games, hiked with Jaida, explored art museums, and ate at some fantastic restaurants in San Francisco.

I moved to Mexico for a stint to work at a restaurant in Tulum, soon after we started dating. But it didn't work out as planned, and Jared easily convinced me to move back to SF after he visited for a long weekend.

We continued to adventure together in SF and, at some point, decided to plunge into new careers simultaneously. Jared completed his apprenticeship, left PG&E, and became a full-time tattoo artist. I stopped cooking professionally and worked as a bartender and restaurant consultant as I started prerequisite courses to pursue a career as a Registered Nurse. I became an EMT in 2020 and finally started the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at Samuel Merritt University in May 2021- graduating in May 2022!

The pandemic hit us hard in 2020, but our relationship still thrived. We got engaged in July 2020 while visiting Jared's family in PA! The two of us were hanging out under the pergola next to his parents' pool as a summer storm rolled in. We played cards as the rain and thunder surrounded us when Jared got down on one knee and popped the question!

We received an outpouring of love from all our friends and family, which has made this experience so fun and exciting! After this long engagement, we cannot wait for our families to meet and celebrate this momentous occasion.

We are thrilled to invite you to our wedding in Saratoga, California, in July 2022!

Registry