Our Love Story
Chase & Lauren
Engagement Photo
How We Met
Our story started the way most do these days - on a Microsoft Teams call.
We both began our careers as technology consultants in the middle of COVID, which made for an unconventional first day. During an early video call with our starting group, we noticed we had the exact same kitchen cabinets. A little digging revealed we'd been living in the same apartment complex all along and had somehow never crossed paths.
Our starting group became a tight-knit crew fast. Weekly Tuesday night dinners, Wednesday night trivia, and a lot of time spent figuring out post-college life together. It was a good foundation.
A few months in, Lauren adopted Rosalie, a Goldendoodle puppy who apparently had strong opinions about who she wanted to visit. Lauren may tell you it was Rosalie's idea. We'll let you decide.
The First Date
Our first date didn't come out of nowhere - it had some unlikely groundwork laid by Lauren's personal cinematic obsession.
We'd spent about a week at Lauren's apartment working through the Twilight series, which Lauren will firmly describe as a masterpiece, and which also happened to feature an increasingly less-tiny Rosalie. After enough vampires and a lot of couch time, it became pretty clear that spending more time together was the goal - so Chase did the reasonable thing and asked Lauren out properly.
A nice German restaurant in Plano, followed by gelato. Nothing too elaborate, but it felt right. The rest, as they say, took care of itself.
The Proposal
When Chase's parents invited us both on a cruise through Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, Chase knew pretty quickly that this was the moment.
The first few days were exactly what a vacation should be - exploring ports, soaking in the history, and enjoying the kind of trip you don't take for granted. But there was one stop with nothing on the agenda, and Chase had been quietly planning around it. The ring was in the room safe, which Lauren was apparently never supposed to find - and didn't, though "discreet" might be a generous word for it.
As it happened, Chase's mom had arranged something that made the whole thing even better: a local photographer to capture us in traditional kimonos at two locations - a temple and a park where the sakura trees were in full bloom.
At the park, Chase asked the photographers to position Lauren with her back turned while he reached for the ring. When she turned around, he was already on one knee.
The sakura trees, the kimonos, the photographers who were suddenly doing something much more important than a photoshoot — it all came together in a way that's hard to plan for and impossible to forget.
Our Journey
We Met
The beginning of our story
First Date
Sparks flew
Made It Official
Became a couple
The Proposal
She said yes!
Wedding Day
The best day of our lives
Meet the Couple
Chase
The Groom
Colorado raised, Texas transplanted. Chase works as a Software Engineer, which means he spends his days solving problems at work and then comes home to find more problems to solve - usually somewhere in or around the house.
When he's not wrenching on a home project, you can find him brewing a craft beer, adding to his whisky collection, or volunteering his time teaching kids to code. He has a soft spot for building things, whether that's software, a good pour, or the next generation of engineers.
Lauren
The Bride
[A short bio about Lauren - her hobbies, what she does, fun facts. This helps guests get to know you better!]