Claire and Jack met on a busy brunch shift at Chicago's famous Southport Grocery and Café - somewhere between pulling espresso and serving hungry customers; something more beautiful had begun. Unlike Wrigleyville on a weekend it was a slow burn at first; co-workers became friends, and friends grew into something more as brunch shifts turned into dinners and nights out at some of the best spots on Chicago's Northside. When Claire moved to her hometown for a teaching job after grad school and Jack stayed in Chicago; more trains and automobiles became involved, but their determination to seek each other and find adventures never wavered. It was clear to them as time went on that this relationship had grown very strong roots.

Our proposal story was a journey through Chicago. After years of making memories all over the city Jack finally took Claire on a tour of some of those spots. Beginning at the beginning, Southport Grocery and Cafe held a single red rose hidden in the pastry case with a short clue to the next location. Guthrie's Tavern, a local tavern where Jack worked and Claire would sit and grade papers many a Saturday afternoon. The next clues brought Claire to the tennis courts where she taught Jack how to play and their previous apartment where they had many adventures, made it through quarantine and built their foundation. The hunt ended at their new condo and the threshold of their future where Jack asked the big question and Claire said 'Yes!'. Celebrating together with a fine scotch in...coffee mugs, Jack and Claire had a toast and ended up at their favorite sushi spot in the city and the location of their first date, Tanoshii.