Sophia's Perspective:

Noah and Sophia knew each other a little bit during their undergraduate years at UW-Madison. They both were involved at Saint Paul's Catholic Student Center and ran in similar friend groups. Sophia thought Noah was tall, very social and kind but always considered him a good friend and nothing more than that.

As the college years came to an end and friends moved away, Noah and Sophia both stayed back in Madison to work at Saint Paul's. Over these years, Noah casually brought Sophia lunch, they went on walks and got ice cream, he invited Sophia to his home to do pottery with his mom and planned a trip to Chicago (Sophia always wanted to see The Bean sculpture). All of these events happened just as friends.

The more Sophia hung out with Noah the more she wanted to spend time with him. Over this time, she really started to "like like" him. However, she told herself she could not like him because they were just friends and there was no way Noah liked her. One day they were out for lunch and Sophia planned to tell Noah that they should spend more time with people they were interested in and not each other. Before she got the chance to tell Noah, he asked her out on an official date! She was completely shocked and happy... and now they are here!

Noah's Perspective:

Noah and Sophia originally met in the fall of 2017 when the freshman Sophia joined the Badger Catholic club on UW-Madison's campus where Noah, a sophomore at UW, was working. They became acquaintances and floated in the same friend groups until graduation.

Noah always thought Sophia was the nicest girl he'd ever met. After graduation, most of their friends from undergrad moved away for work and family. Fr. Eric Nielsen, the pastor of Saint Paul's Catholic Student Center in Madison, convinced them both to stay and work with him for a few years at the church. He is quite the matchmaker and was not shy about praising Sophia to Noah, and vice versa.

Sophia and Noah grew closer as they made new friends in Madison. Additionally, they were often hanging out together when their old friends visited.

Towards the end of Noah's time in Madison, before leaving for dental school, he kept making plans with Sophia for when he would visit Madison next year. Sophia always responded, "Sure, that sounds fun - if we're still friends by then." Noah wondered why she kept saying that since they'd known each other for so long and had grown closer every year. Then, it finally clicked in Noah's brain in the January of 2023 that Sophia was the one he wanted to spend his life with, and she wasn't going to wait around forever. So, he asked Sophia on a date, and the rest is history.