The story of how we met is a funny one that we often recount as being incredibly ironic.

We were a product of the quarantine of 2020 after Genesis decided to shoot her shot and send me a message. Previously, we had some mutual friends (so much so that I was in Genesis's former apartment without her even knowing because I was best friends with her roommate!). It all came full circle when Genesis came over to make pasta and pesto with me, and we haven't looked back since. She basically crash-landed in my apartment and never left, and I am forever thankful that we got to spend those days together instead of alone.

-Savannah

Our relationship is obviously already a "non-traditional" one (whatever that means), seeing as we are both women. So, we decided to do a non-traditional name combination and smash our two names together.

Thomas + Mihalko = Tomalko

We both believe that family legacy is important. However, we also believe that as a matriarchal family, we need to forge our own path. Our combined name shares legacies from both of our families while creating our own family name and lineage that can be directly traced back to us. We think that's pretty cool.

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston is one of the first books that we buddy-read together. We both found it incredibly special to be reading a romance novel featuring two women. The novel digs into the legacy of lesbians fighting for the rights of all LGBTQ+ people in the 70's and 80's and throughout the HIV/AIDS epidemic of that time. It discusses the reality of being queer in a world that is not always very accepting. It shows two people who enjoy each other's presence, and the group of friends that encourage and assist them on their journey. We both can relate to this novel and love it very much, and would love to share it's incredible power with all of you (aka - some quotes will be on our wedding favors!).