the del carmens

It all started with two college kids in 2016, late night cookies and ice cream, and talking until 4 am with Jason Mraz filling the background. Nick and Mia met in 2015 through a Filipino club at their university, where his high school friends just happened to be Mia’s new college friends. But when Mia introduced herself, Nick didn’t say a word because he was so shy. However, after a few months of seeing each other at various events, Nick finally reached out to Mia through Facebook messenger. Soon enough, on April 9, 2016, Nick and Mia embarked on a late night cookie run that set the foundation for the rest of their relationship. This being the first time the two had ever hung out, Mia was so surprised at how intentional Nick was throughout the entire night– driving her around to places in the city she had never seen, bringing her to the Honeycomb in Lincoln Park to eat cookies and ice cream in front of the skyline, talking for hours in the car listening to one of their favorite artists, Jason Mraz’s YES album on a loop, and driving her down Lake Shore Drive for the first of many more times to come. Although it was only a night of two people getting to know each other, it almost instantly felt like God had placed each other in front of the other at the perfect time in life, whether or not it was just a friendship. Fast forward into the fall, they coincidentally became roommates in an apartment back at UIC with five other of their friends, which jump started the beginning of the growth and depth of their friendship. As they weaved through the ebbs and flow of twenty somethings in college— struggling with school, love, loss, at the end of every day the two always found their spots together on the couch right next to the other. Through late night study sessions, deep conversations in the dining room, or even FaceTimes over holiday break when Mia was briefly visiting her family in Texas, the connection between the two became stronger without them even realizing it. On April 9, 2017, Nick took Mia out of the apartment, drove her through the city, picked up cookies and ice cream, and took her back to the Honeycomb where they first hung out a year prior, with the album YES in his hands, and asked Mia to be his girlfriend. Starting their relationship together in the city that Nick helped Mia find a deeper love in was so special, but come August, she moved back to Texas to start nursing school and be with her family after 3 years. For the next 5 and a half years, the two took on the heartache and challenge of long distance from Chicago and Dallas/Austin, all while working on their own growth and successes. Through every plane ride, written letter and card sent, every coffee shop conversation and tearful goodbye through it all, Nick and Mia’s run of long distance finally came to a close as she returned back to Chicago — in the neighborhood where it all started. Photo credits to the amazing @kriztellehalili — you capture our love so well and we can't wait to celebrate our wedding with you.