We're getting married!

M: Ash and I met at Apache Lake in the middle of the Superstition Mountains near Phoenix, Arizona. My band was playing at a small music festival there and as we played on stage, I noticed this gorgeous person with massive blue eyes dancing in the dirt with her friend out in the crowd. The band finished our set, packed up, and we returned to our campsite to unwind. I kept thinking about her and when I returned to the festival grounds I was stoked to see her and her best bud, Alli talking with my best friend, Jared. I was nervous, but I went up and chatted with her for a bit, and asked if I could buy her a drink. Somehow she was game, and we spent the entire night talking, drinking, drunkenly dancing, walking around the festival and the desert surrounding it. We connected immediately and with such ease. I was enamored - it hit hard. We exchanged numbers and I hoped I’d see her again soon. A: At Apache Lake I felt as a free as a bird, dancing all day to bands I had mostly never heard of with my best bud, Alli. Someone at the festival was putting face paint on everyone, and when Michael approached me later (both of us rocking similar face paint), it took me a second to realize he had been in one of the bands we’d seen. He asked if he could buy me a drink and I said "yes." We talked for hours, connected quickly, danced to other bands, and walked around to different campsites. When our fun night ended, we retreated back to our separate camps and he asked for my number. In my dancey-drunkenness, I messed up one of the numbers on accident! I remember Michael sending me a polite message on Facebook a day or two later, hoping that maybe I might have given him the wrong number by mistake. I called him as quick as I could and we set a date to get drinks that night at Casey Moore’s in Tempe.

M: Ash and I soon discovered we lived really close to each other, had a lot of friends in common, and shared a few of the same haunts. We met up for more dates, showed each other who we were, and soon enough we were all in. Ash and I took it slow, with an intention, fire, and honesty I had never experienced in a relationship. There was a strong independence in Ash, and I felt lucky and loved every time she let me in closer. A: I was intentional and took it slow with opening my heart and life to Michael, but as we continued to date and share our lives, we developed an ease and happiness that had us diving in. I craved our mornings at a coffee shop or evenings at a bar, the way we could talk about anything and everything as Michael can stimulate me intelligently like no one else. I craved our adventures and felt at home in his truck as we’d drive off to a new spot, sparking and encouraging the traveler in both of us. The slow and steady beginning of our relationship allowed Michael to really understand me fully, and we became bonded so tightly in our similarities and understood in our differences. There was a freedom in our love I had never known, and honesty and intention to be ourselves and to love each other fully, to hold nothing back.

M: Through months at a time apart, trips with each other, and our times spent home together, we have found a closeness that exists even with distance. A love that feels free, deliberate, cherished, and cared for - a deep well of respect and support and passion. I feel at once wholly hers, wholly myself, and wholly us - supported by her, leaned on and counted on, and so completely loved for who I am, who I was, and who I will become. We love each other hard, we give each other shit, were best friends and passionate partners. Six years later, through good times and hard times, I love her the very same. I proposed to Ash earlier this year in Bisbee, Arizona, one of our favorite towns, and a place we escaped to often throughout our relationship. A: On our most recent trip to Bisbee, we decided to hike up to see this mountain top shrine out in the desert we had heard about. This “walk” turned out to be a bit of a hike when we took the wrong trail, and dressed in multiple layers and a felt hat, I was more than ready to get to the top. When we came around the last steps of the trail we were hit with a bright, sprawling view of Bisbee that made the town look bigger than it feels. We reached the shrine we came to see, and smiled as we read love letters, looked at photos, and admired the votives visitors had purposefully placed around the rocks. We silently enjoyed this moment and had the mountaintop all to ourselves. Suddenly, there was a change in Michael's demeanor. He turned me around and his voice began to shake, and I wasn't quite sure where he was headed. It wasn't until he unzipped his pack and pulled out a black ring box that I began to cry uncontrollably. I had never cried so happily before. I said "yes" and threw my arms around him and kissed him with my face wet with tears. Now, in just a few short months, I’ll be marrying my best friend, my lover, and my favorite person.

M: We have amazing friends and the best families. Ash and I have always talked about how insane it has been to have such a strong and supportive community alongside us. We could not have developed the love that we share or the memories we’ve had so far without them, and we’re so stoked to have all of our homies with us January 10th. We love you. Cheers. And see you in January.