Their love story began like so many others, a tale as old as time, on Bumble.


Ah yes, online dating. Like their parents and grandparents and their ancestors before them. The amazing thing was how much they had in common. Sarrah working in the public sector, Mark for a major corporation. Sarrah a cat person, Mark with his love for big dogs. Sarrah the proud liberal, Mark aligned to the conservatives. Sarrah with her place and friends group downtown, Mark firmly entrenched in the suburbs. It’s beautiful when the universe brings a perfect match together.


The date was Friday, April 21st, 2017. After a few weeks of corresponding through the app Mark arrived at Sarrah’s apartment to pick her up for a date she had finally begrudgingly agreed to with 2 bottles of wine in hand. One white, one red, not knowing her preference. After presenting the wine they headed off to the dinner reservation he had made at a new steakhouse downtown called CharBlue. By sheer coincidence when reading the menu Sarrah discovered her childhood neighbor was the chef leading the kitchen the team provided an absolutely exceptional meal. It was certainly an experience to remember. Following dinner they made a stop at a wine bar and then with Sarrah safely back to her apartment their first date concluded.


Mark continued to pursue dialogue with Sarrah with very little success, and finally a week and a half later was able to convince her to go to lunch, having realized their workplaces are actually adjacent to each other. A quick sandwich and conversation and back to their respective offices.


Five years later…


It started like any other Friday afternoon on January 7th, 2022. Mark was wrapping up his week and flipping around on his phone before closing down his computer to head home when he came across a familiar face in his Instagram people “recommended for you”. He immediately knew the assignment and being the super smooth operator he is subtly slid into Sarrah’s DMs knowing full well she’d immediately remember the magical 1.25 dates they shared those 5 short years ago. Obviously being coy and for sure not having forgotten who he was she replied with a very polite thanks for reaching out to “introduce” himself. A few gentle reminders over the next few weeks and a conversation was started, a date agreed to and planned for February 25th, and an amazing new relationship took to it’s course.


The next couple years were nothing short of exciting. Fires and floods and Sarrah being displaced from her beloved apartment. Tiger Lilly trying to navigate Oliver and all that well intentioned energy. Ideological liberal dealing with a conservative. Financially smart reigning in the spender. Night owl tolerating a morning person. City-loving girl learning the suburbs. A true realist with the eternal optimist. Traveling to the furthest reaches of the planet to have amazing experiences both with friends and as a couple. Dungeons, caves, labyrinths, temples, waterfalls, and even earthquakes in just 2 short years.


And yet, despite their differences and the stresses of life, here we are preparing for a wedding because on August 27th, 2023 at Lepuyang Temple in Bali, Sarrah said YES!!!