We like to say our story began with a swipe right and a wagging tail. It was May 2022 when we first met at Metazoa Brewing Co. in Indianapolis. Adam, being the proud new dog dad he was, brought along his puppy Penny. Little did he know, Penny would become his ultimate wingman (or wing-pup, if you will). As we sipped our beers and watched Penny work her charm on everyone around us, something clicked. By the end of the night, we both knew this was just the beginning.

For their second date, Adam invited Gillian over to cook a homemade Italian dinner. Spoiler alert: cacio e pepe isn’t as easy as TikTok makes it look. But Gillian, bless her heart, ate it anyway with a smile on her face. That’s when Adam knew she was a keeper. This culinary misadventure became the first of many cooking adventures together, each one (thankfully) more delicious than the last.

We dove headfirst into our relationship, taking risks that always seemed to pay off. Just six months into our relationship, we (including Penny!) found a cozy townhome in Downtown Indianapolis that quickly became our haven. Our shared love for cooking (yes, even after the cacio e pepe incident), pasta, and traveling has taken us on some incredible journeys. We cheered on Adam’s beloved Georgia Bulldogs clinch the national championship in Los Angeles and have danced to Taylor Swift at the Eras tour in Las Vegas. Our passports have been stamped in the Bahamas, Ireland, England, and Italy, each trip filling our hearts with more love and our camera rolls with more memories.

On a perfect spring day in April 2024, surrounded by our parents and some of our closest friends, Adam got down on one knee outside the Bottleworks Hotel in Indianapolis. Amid tears, laughter, and a resounding “Yes!” (eventually – Gillian was so taken aback she forgot to actually say it at first), we toasted to our future with champagne and shared our joy over dinner.

As we prepare to say “I do” in Italy, we can’t help but reflect on how far we’ve come. From that first date with Penny to planning a wedding in an Italian castle, our journey has been filled with love, laughter, and a few leaps of faith.

We can't wait to create more unforgettable memories with all of you in the magic of the Tuscan countryside. Here’s to love, to adventure, and to writing the next pages of our story together. Because if there’s one thing we've learned, it's that the best adventures are the ones we take with each other.