On this day

We made a serendipitous match when we both took to the same dating app. After learning about each other over weeks of chatting, I (finally) asked Lisa to dinner at a restaurant in her neighborhood. We still laugh at one of the first things we learned about each other: what Lisa learned about me is my promptness (aka, 10 minutes early!), and what I learned about Lisa was her tardiness (aka, fashionably late!). But, I soon would know that she is worth every minute I had to wait for her. That first night we had a natural connection, and the evening flowed smoothly, ending infamously with a side hug from Lisa after I walked her home. Lisa says more than the hug, she remembers me raving about the Cornbread and when it came, I only had one bite! Impressing this lady across from me was top of mind. Since that first date, over a year and a half has flown by. Each time I saw Lisa, it was more special than the last. While we owe credit to our Bumble profiles (modern day arranged marriages), we have also shared amazing experiences that brought us to this joyful place of getting married. 2 people swiping right in a city of 2.7 million people...

What started as a normal Saturday for me was actually the climax of weeks of planning for Phillip. I had brunch plans at a restaurant overlooking the Chicago River, and Phillip was supposedly going to work for an after-school activity. Unbeknownst to me, Phillip didn't go to school, but instead picked up champagne, Black Label, and drove to O'Hare airport to pick up his parents and aunt. Even earlier that morning, my brother and his fiance, Jason and Ariel, landed in Chicago from Houston. (My other brother, Mark, and his girlfriend Emilee, conveniently live in Chicago.) AND, my Dad had also flown into Chicago a few days earlier...just another Saturday. All the while, I was enjoying brunch with my friends, Daisy and Ariela. Daisy showed up with a fancy camera, convincing me she joined a photography club that was meeting after brunch. I soon found out that was also a cover-up! Meanwhile, Phillip had changed clothes and stationed his friend, Tom, out of sight on the side of the riverwalk... My friends and I left the restaurant and walked across the bridge where I spotted Phillip smiling from ear to ear. He immediately came over, took my hand, and led me to the path along the Chicago River. He inquired about brunch as I was asking what he was doing here...his response once we were near to the river, was something along the lines of "love," "marriage," and "being his person." My ugly cry was fierce! Then, seeing him get on his knee, I heard the question I’ve dreamed of my whole life from the person I’ve waited for my whole life. I obviously said YES and pulled him up off his knee to embrace him; I was so in shock that he had to ask, "So, do you want to put on the ring?" At that point, I realized I had not even seen the ring; he put it on my hand, and the flood works of tears could no longer be controlled. My friends knew, my family knew, and now I knew what this day was really about.