No, this is not the start of a joke - we were lab partners together in Fall 2020 at Georgia Tech. Still in the COVID years, we had masks on when we first met. Without even seeing one another's faces, there was an instant attraction & Blake just had to ask for her number (to share lab notes of course).

Fast forward to our first couple dates, hiking and sushi, and we knew there was something special about one another. For one, Alayna thought Blake was beyond organized and clean (little did she know that it wasn't him, but his roommates that tidied up his room while they were gone). Blake knew that no one in the world was as caring as she was, whether dropping off care packages during an in-house COVID lockdown (Once again, that one is owed to the roommates) or helping raise the first addition to our family, Phoebe, back in her puppy years.

Blake and Alayna continued falling deeper in love all over the country, from Atlanta, to Charleston, to Houston, to Ashburn, and now finally to Reston. Exploring the world together, raising two dogs, and beginning our careers and lives with one other, it never mattered where we were as long as we were by the other's side. We are often asked when we first knew the other person was the one. It's hard to say it was a single moment, rather an amalgamation of beautiful, unique, shared moments that would never have felt the same if we were experiencing them apart. All of these moments are forever cemented as the exposition of our love story.

The story of our lives is still just beginning, and we are so grateful to have our amazing friends and family be there to turn the page with us. To experience this surreal moment of love and joy at a beach wedding, exactly like 10-year-old Alayna had always dreamed of on her Pinterest page, will be a memory we will cherish for the rest of our lives. We can't wait to celebrate with each and every one of you.