You could say our story began back in 2011 at the Lakes vs. Antioch Football game, or in 2012 during the ACHS spring musical West Side Story, or in 2017 when Heather interned with CTT and Paul asked her to get a drink when she officially moved to Chicago after graduation…

But we like to say our story began at our first date/not a date at Jin Thai on September 19th, 2018. We didn’t know where the relationship would go, but drinks became dinner, and dinner became talking until the restaurant closed.

Fast forward 5 wonderful years, it’s March of 2023. We are going on vacation to Cabo. Heather wanted to get engaged on this trip SO BADLY, but Paul broke the news that it wasn’t in the cards. C’est la vie, the vacation was still going to be one to remember! We arrived at the hotel to a minor scare that we had no reservation (don’t worry, we cleared that up), and headed straight to the pool. Heather was ready to swim, but for SOME REASON Paul really didn’t want to leave the luggage unattended. Heather was ready for cocktails and a party! But Paul insisted we should go get cleaned up, dress nice for dinner, and maybe even take some photos on the beach.

We head down to the ocean, looking out at the most beautiful sunset. Paul says “why don’t you walk ahead and I’ll take a few pictures of you?” Heather complies, walks a few feet ahead, and then turns around - to find Paul down on one knee holding the most beautiful engagement ring, asking her to marry him. The most beautiful surprise, tears, and an enthusiastic yes! It was perfect!

Fast forward to seven years and a day together, we are so excited to get married. And we are so happy to share this special occasion with all of you!