Once upon a time, there was a boy named Ian living in Virginia Beach. Ian had an account on a website that helped travelers connect with locals of the cities they were visiting. But Ian never used this site and had completely forgotten about it, until one day in December 2013 when he received a message. It was from a Colombian woman that was visiting her friend and wanted to meet someone that could show them around the city. So, Ian was left with the decision to meet up with two Colombianas or not. And surprise surprise, Ian decided to accompany them for drinks.
That first night, Ian quickly decided that, while the conversation with the girl that messaged him was severely lacking in quality, he didn’t want to stop talking with the friend that she brought along……a girl named Marilyn. Alas, that first talk eventually had to end but Ian made sure to invite them to his house the following night for a small gathering he was hosting. To the chagrin of his other guests, Ian and Marilyn continued their conversation from the previous night. The night worn on, everyone left, but Ian and Marilyn sat by the fireplace until the morning.
However, for reasons still unknown to this day, it took Ian another month and a half to finally ask Marilyn out on a formal date, which he did……by text. That night happened to take place in the midst of a snowstorm sweeping through the Chesapeake region and Marilyn was very curious as to how Ian intended to accomplish this. Well, Ian happened to be borrowing his friend’s pickup truck and confidently picked Marilyn up on time and the two enjoyed a quiet night of tapas in a virtually empty restaurant (because everyone else was smart enough to stay home during a storm). But Ian wasn’t going to lose this opportunity. From that night on, the two were literally inseparable. They moved in together six months later and the next year, they moved to the opposite coast to begin a life together in Seattle.
Ian eventually summoned the courage to ask for Marilyn’s hand in marriage, in front of her favorite tree, adorned with lights for the Christmas festival in a small “German” town in the Cascade mountains of central Washington. In June 2021, they moved to Miami, purchased their dream home together and began planning this night, to celebrate their adventure together with all of you, their most cherished friends and family.
