We met through the wonderful world of Hinge — I was very selective about who I responded to. My top prompt was "I know the best pizza place in Chicago, and it's not Lou's, Giordano's, or Pequod's," and I only responded to guys who replied with "The Art of Pizza." Turns out Max had been a devoted Art of Pizza fan since grade school. At the time, I was a busy grad school student, so we spent over two months just messaging before we ever met up. Our first date was a cold February afternoon spent over drinks at Broken Barrel. We went on two more dates before that week was over. Over the years, we discovered we find love in the quiet moments — coffee and tea on a Sunday morning, a cozy movie date on a Friday night, a pancake breakfast on a sunny Saturday, endless food and wine on a European adventure, or spontaneously slow dancing to our favorite songs in our living room. Five years later, we decided it was about time we tie the knot.

I ask Max daily why he loves me, so for the proposal, he decided to just write it all down. A handwritten love letter led me to our bookshelf, where he'd hidden a book of poems he'd written — every page contained different reasons why he loved me. By the time he finished reading me each letter, he took a breath, got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him in the middle of our living room. I am so glad I have the book of poems to look back on, because I can tell you for certain that I have absolutely no idea what he said to me once he got down on one knee.

To be loved is to be seen. How lucky to be loved by somebody who knows you inside and out. When I think back to the proposal, it truly feels like a moment out of a fairytale.

We are so excited to share our love story with each and every one of you. You all have been invited to this wedding celebration because you mean the world to us. Maybe you have been with us since we were small, maybe you have been with us throughout the ups and downs of high school, or the challenges of post college life — whatever our meeting origin, we are so happy you are coming along with us as we embark on our journey of saying "I do!"