Lily and Marvin first met in October 2017, at the beginning of their freshman year at UC San Diego. Both had decided to check out the campus Taekwondo club, and it was there—on the mat—that they crossed paths for the first time. Lily still remembers the moment she spotted Marvin across the room. Marvin, ever the gentleman, offered to walk her back to her dorm after practice. As fate would have it, they discovered they lived in the same building and even shared a few classes. They quickly became friends.

Though it was clear from the beginning that God had brought them into each other’s lives, it wasn’t until after college that their story took a romantic turn.

After graduation, Lily moved across the country for work, while Marvin stayed in San Diego. They kept in touch and caught up during Lily’s visits home, but for a while, it seemed they might always remain “the one that got away” for each other. That is, until a spirited debate about the meaning of Blink-182’s One More Time. Lily believed it was a love story; Marvin insisted it was about friendship. That lighthearted disagreement led to a deeper conversation—and a long-overdue confession: they had always had feelings for each other. The very next day, Marvin sent roses to Lily’s apartment in D.C. and officially asked her out.

From there, everything just clicked. Their connection felt effortless, and it quickly became clear they were meant to be. Not long after, Lily’s company had an unexpected opening in San Diego, and she was able to move back home. They moved in together and fell even more deeply in love.

Marvin proposed in the backyard gazebo—a quiet, perfect moment. And now, on October 23, 2025, exactly eight years from the day they met, Lily and Marvin will begin their next chapter: as husband and wife.