Caryn and Brent were set up on a blind date through mutual friends in 2019. At that cider bar in Dallas, they discovered mutual roots in Chicago yet diverse journeys with lots of stops along the way before getting to those bar stools. Later that evening, they were approached by the photographer who, unbelievably, recognized Brent from taking his work headshot years earlier. She said they were a cute couple and slid her card to them saying “call me when you get married.” By this point, it was hard to tell who was blushing harder, but Brent discretely kept the card, and called her up to capture the proposal two years later. In between that time, Caryn and Brent experienced their first global pandemic together which, early on, brought about more evenings at Caryn’s apartment and Brent’s condo than planned. Brent would often cook for Caryn, and Caryn taught Brent how to make pasta. They gave each other support through major medical milestones: the vaccine (Caryn’s first jab was a particularly haunting experience) and both getting Lasik eye surgery (fortunately not on the same day which would’ve made driving home terrifying). With Brent and Caryn both working at American Airlines’ corporate offices, they both have the gift of travel. Their first trip was a short weekend in San Diego, but others included Phoenix, New York City, Cabo, LA, Rome, Boise, Universal Studios, Disney, seemingly dozens of trips to Chicago, and more.