Like all great love stories, ours began under the fluorescent lights of an office in Washington, DC in late 2014. We quickly bonded over a shared love of spreadsheets, cooking, and live music. After a New Year's Eve kiss at DC's most romantic venue—Wonderland Ballroom—we stopped being beyond "just coworkers." Quickly inseparable, we spent the next 4 years merging friend groups, exploring nearly every restaurant in the DMV, and traveling the country to attend countless weddings. In Fall 2017, Rachel moved to Boston for grad school while Phil held down the fort in DC (and we mean literally—he moved into her old apartment).

After graduate school, we made the tough decision to move to San Francisco for Rachel's new job. Phil suggested we return to where it all started—Wonderland Ballroom—for a final DC brunch. Sensing a proposal could be coming, Rachel dressed up, ready to answer the big question. But the brunch ended with an unexpected twist: not a ring, but a scavenger hunt clue! The adventure led Rachel through her favorite DC spots, where friends waited to celebrate at each stop and then give her another clue. At the final destination, with family gathered around, Phil proposed in front of the iconic "LOVE" mural—and Rachel finally got to say yes!

After moving to the West Coast we eagerly planned a wedding for Fall 2020 in Boston. As we all know, life had other plans—our wedding became a minor casualty amid a much larger tragedy. Not wanting to wait any longer, we married on October 3, 2020, surrounded by our immediate families at Rachel's family home on the Massachusetts coast. The intimate ceremony was beautiful, and we're grateful we didn't wait for the pandemic to "blow over." Still, it broke our hearts that we couldn't celebrate with more of our favorite people. We promised ourselves we'd find the right time to celebrate with all our loved ones.

For the past five years, we've enjoyed life in the Bay Area with our furry four-legged son, Maru, cooking a lot, and traveling whenever possible! We can't wait to celebrate our love with you all this October in the city we now call home. We truly wouldn’t be here without each of you!