Despite the many variations of our meet cute that James likes to tell at parties, one gradually more extreme than the last, we met rather uneventfully one fateful day swiping through the dating app, Hinge. After chatting a few times, we decided to meet up in the West Village of Manhattan on a chilly Wednesday night in February of 2018.

Still buzzing from the Eagles Super Bowl victory 3 days prior (go birds), Shannon took a quick subway ride and arrived early after work. She waited for James in the rain in the neon glow of the Comedy Cellar marquis lights, absolutely freezing her butt off. But, this was back when she was still blonde and 23 years old. You're invincible when you're blonde and 23 years old.

James arrived in a yellow cab because he didn't know how to navigate the subway (don't worry, he has since become the rat king of the underground). He wore a bright red University of Maryland beanie, navy bomber jacket, and an umbrella he was forced to buy at Penn Station. Unbeknownst to Shannon, he'd traveled two and a half hours, requiring two car rides and two different trains. What a guy!

We had a dinner of one large order of french fries from Pomme Frites, across the street from the Cellar. Shannon ordered two mayo-based dipping sauces, not realizing that James loathes the condiment, and we sat at the barstools by the window. We almost missed the comedy show that night because we got caught up in conversation and forgot to check our phones for the time. Time flies, as they say, when you're scarfing down fries to distract from your first date jitters. After the show, we went for drinks, saw some live music, and took one (or two, or three) too many pickleback shots.

In the five years since that night, we have had countless adventures, traveled as much as we could, and recreated our first date as closely as possible once a year. We've been so lucky to spend the better part of our 20s together in this incredible city. Now, we're so excited to take the next step and finally get the government involved in our love story on October 26th, 2024, with all of you by our side. Thank you so much for being here! We love you so much!!