Luck had it that we both dropped by mutual friends’ baby shower three years ago. There, I got to test out James’ baby carrying skills, and James asked me out to dinner later that week. Fast forward a few weeks and James heard that I was signed up for the AIDS Life Cycle, a 545 mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Though James hadn’t been on a bike in years, he signed up to do the ride too (talk about commitment!). For the next twelve months we spent time together doing training rides, eating cookies and cake to recover from training rides and fundraising, giving us an opportunity to grow closer.

We knew we had a spark going when our pets approved of this relationship. My dog, Pasha, decided James was meant to be her BFF, and she used him as her personal butler and cushion every chance she got. Meanwhile, James’ dog, Ellie, discovered that she was meant to be my shadow, never straying more than two feet away from me and helpfully waking me up in the morning with plenty of licks. Making a separate peace with the situation is feline Chester, who appreciates the treat-rich environment of the merged households, while disapproving of the dog-cat imbalance.

We also found we love to travel, and we have taken some amazing trips together on four continents. Our adventures took us to Phuket, Thailand, there I learned to SCUBA dive on a live-aboard dive boat in the Similan Islands. We explored Jardim Botanico before hitting the beach in Ipanema. We wandered the passageways of Venice, gorging on pizza and gelato and we got stuck in a hurricane in Mexico. In Bali a fortune teller revealed that we were destined to be together for the rest of our lives, so we have it on authority this wedding is a good idea.

In October 2016 James planned a trip for us to Paris. As an avid baker, I made sure that we ate our way through all the bakeries and patisseries I had long dreamed about visiting, enjoying the flakiest croissants and richest cakes. After a full day of walking around the streets of Paris and eating more pastries than I could imagine, we returned to our cute boutique apartment for a short nap. When I woke up, James had the window open and there was a gorgeous view of the Eiffel Tower from our apartment. It was then that he sat down and proposed to me. I could not have imagined a more romantic setting.

So, here we are a few months from our wedding, and can’t wait to celebrate with our family and loved ones.

From the marrier, Harvey