Welcome! I'm glad you're here. As you're probably wondering, "why am I only being invited to the reception?" It was always my dream to be married on a beach. When I found out one of my favorite lighthouses (and beaches!) allowed weddings, I just couldn't get it out of my mind. I kept looking for other options on a budget (why are wedding things so ridiculously expensive?!) and it was just not happening. I tried to come up with a way to have a ceremony and reception at the lighthouse, but no matter how I planned, it just couldn't come to fruition. We had a time constraint as well as very limited space to work with. I wanted to give up and elope, but I also knew that's not what either of us wanted. So instead we decided on a very small, private ceremony. Aside from our best man and maid of honor, we will have our parents present as well as 2 out of state guests. We just couldn't pick "a few people" because we wanted everyone but knew it wouldn't work. So we decided to have a local reception another day where we can invite more people. We realize this may be unconventional, but we are a bit unconventional ourselves! Now, here's a little about "how we met". Long story short, Chris and I met at work. But there's more to that story. I had always had a personal rule- " don't date people you work with", but then COVID hit. 2020 was a weird year, nothing made sense, all "rules" went out the window. Coming into work was different, we all had to schlep to the back room, line up for a temp check and COVID screening and clock in. Oftentimes, Chris and I would be lingering by the time clock waiting for 10 am to roll around so we could clock in, but we didn't really chat much. I had seen him around work and knew he was the son of one of my coworkers whom I'd worked with for many years but didn't really give him a second thought. Perhaps it was our shared time clock punches or just a random thought, but I got a Facebook friend request from Chris and accepted. At one point, he shared a photo of their family dog, Jake and I commented that he looked like he needed a treat. Later that evening, I received a private message from Chris to inform me that he was given a treat. We started chatting casually but I didn't think much of it - or of him really. Soon after our original chat, I posted on Facebook that I wanted to do fall things, to which he showed interest. I could say the rest is history, but that's not quite the case. My friend Teresa posted a photo of a aquarium captioned with, "whoever guesses what is going on here, I'll buy you lunch". Well, I guessed it, but since she lives a few states away she sent me a check with instructions to take a friend locally to lunch. I had intended for another friend to come, but she cancelled last minute. I explained this to Chris, asking if he'd like to go and we could also talk about going to do some fall stuff. So we met at Ponder coffee downtown, had lunch and chatted for a while before parting ways. Over the next couple weeks, we met up to do some fall exploring. Everything was still a bit closed down due to COVID, but we found some outdoor things to do and seemed to enjoy each other's company. At one point, Teresa messaged me, teasing that she thought Chis liked me as more than a friend. Almost immediately I was on the defensive. "He's too young, he's weird, we work together, I don't want a relationship....". I just thought she was crazy, there's no way I'd entertain anything with Chris. But we hung out more, talked more and realized we had quite a bit in common. Still, we both made it clear we were not looking for any type of relationship only friendship. I can't recall really when it was that I realized that I did in fact like him as more than a friend, but it was mutual. "Oops, I think I like you" is basically what we both said. And well, the rest is history!