It was a dark winter’s night, and the newest Covid-19 wave was surging. Parker had contracted the deadly pathogen while bravely delivering babies amidst the chaos of the Omicron wave during medical school. To protect his roommates at the time, he retreated to his mother’s home in the suburbs where she and her husband had just had Covid a few weeks prior. He was searching for human contact amid his exile. He turned to Hinge, a place many of his friends had found True Love in the dark years of Covid while watching the remake of Macbeth with Denzel Washington. It was not long before he was notified that a woman liked one of his responses to the question: “What are you looking for?” The woman was beautiful, an Aggie (Parker had been raised to believe the best kinds of people were Aggies), intelligent, and appeared to be adventurous, strong, funny, and light-hearted. Recognizing the importance of striking quickly, he promptly responded to the connection. Her profile had asked for people to share their favorite hiking spots so he responded with a hiking spot not too far from Dallas (really the only real hiking spot in the area), Cedar Ridge Preserve. He very quickly realized he loved talking to this woman. After a couple of days of texting, he asked if they could meet for drinks at his favorite restaurant on 1/17/22. When he showed up at the restaurant, he soon discovered that Las Palmas was completely booked despite it being a cold Monday night. He began kicking himself for his poor planning and worrying that his false start might cost him the chance at a second date. That was when she walked in and his heart stopped. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen entered the restaurant and everyone in the establishment hushed to admire the angel who had blessed them with her presence. Parker stammered describing the predicament. “No problem at all! I know just the place we could go!” She sang as she led him across the street to Bowen House, an apothecary that was all the rage in Uptown, Dallas.

Fast forward a month of hikes, Velvet Taco, and plenty of Wordle (it was just taking off around then), and Parker decided to take Allie out to a fancy restaurant on the corner of his block, Uchi, on 2/22/22 for a dessert called fried milk. His heart was pounding the entire night because he had decided he wanted to have a conversation about their relationship after dessert about how he wanted to become “official.” Well, Allie must have known Parker needed to chill out and she ensured Parker was laughing the entire evening. After dessert, they walked to Allie’s car and Parker was still trying to put his feelings into words. They stood around her car, but Parker was still struggling. Finally, they decided to escape the cold and sit in her car. Parker was still struggling. He finally sputtered saying how he wanted to become official. Allie smiled and said, “I’ve been there for a while, took you long enough.”

A year flies by. They go to 6 weddings, travel all over the country, and learn how to dance, laugh, and make memories even in the most boring of nights. Parker is constantly amazed at how sweet and caring Allie is and how loyal she is to her friends. One night, after completing a jigsaw puzzle and watching “The Notebook” (he didn’t stand a chance), emotions overwhelmed him and he finally told Allie what had been on his heart for a couple of months at this point: that he loved her and thought the world of her. Allie smiled and said, “I’ve been there for a while, took you long enough.”

Unfortunately, their journey had some speed bumps along the way. March 17th of 2023 was match day, a day where Parker would open an envelope and it would tell him where he would spend the next few years of his life to train to become an Emergency Medicine Physician. It was a day that Allie and Parker had been stressing about since the day they met. What would the future hold for them? Parker opened the envelope that day and learned he would be spending the next few years in Baltimore, Maryland at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. It would be a huge change and neither of them was looking forward to dating long distance. They mourned their shared time in Dallas but began to look forward to what God had in store for them on the East Coast.

A year of long distance was not ideal but they made the most of it. They leaped at the chance to see each other during the short breaks in Parker’s busy work schedule, on multiple occasions going straight from work to the airport and then from the airport to work. Allie threw herself into training for a marathon to take her mind off things. They also took advantage of the opportunity to meet in fun places and explore new cities. They ate crabs in Baltimore, went to a vineyard in the Maryland countryside, celebrated Oktober fest in Munich Germany, tubed a river in West Virginia, Allie ran the New York City marathon, they rocked in the new year at the Watergate Hotel on New Year's Eve, and went to multiple fun weddings around the country celebrating the love of our dear friends. When they were together, nothing could stop them and they were having the time of their life; but the year was also a tough year of uncertainty and loneliness for them both. The first year of residency is notoriously difficult; 2 of his graduating class of 12 ended up dropping out of the program. Allie was now a manager at her job which required her to work late nights more frequently and step into the frustrations of leadership daily.

Their year of long distance ended on 6/10/24 when Allie moved to the DC area after transferring work offices and uprooting her entire life for the sake of their relationship, one year to the day of when Parker drove away from Dallas. Parker drove straight from the hospital after a 28-hour shift in the ICU (after a short nap of course) to celebrate their year of long distance finally being over.

They almost immediately began planning for their next vacation in September. Allie planned every step along the way: the flights, the meals, the sights, and everything in between. Parker used the excuse of how he was a busy resident and could not contribute much to the planning process; however, he had a surprise up his sleeve. He had flown to Dallas and talked to her parents to get their blessing, bought a ring, and hired a photographer to capture their big moment. During the big Italian vacation that Allie had planned, Parker surprised her at Villa Rufolo in Ravello off the Amalfi coast in Italy where he got down on one knee and said, “This has been the adventure of a lifetime, and I can’t wait to spend a lifetime of adventure with you. Will you marry me?” And Allie smiled and said, “I’ve been there for a while, took you long enough.”

Yeah, it was not nearly as dramatic as Parker's version! I, like many other singles during COVID, had the dating apps but had never been on a date from it because: if I was going to meet up with a random person from an app, they were going to have to meet some pretty crazy high standards first!! When Parker's profile came up - cute, obviously very smart, Christian, same high school, mutual friends... it checked all my boxes on paper so I decided to take the risk, and thank God I did!! Turns out that he had COVID so we had to wait a bit before we could meet in person, but as soon as he was better he suggested that we meet at his favorite Mexican restaurant, Las Palmas! So I got ready, my roommate Kate wished me luck, and I nervously embarked on my first-ever Hinge date. When I walked into the restaurant he was waiting by the door and immediately greeted me and gave me a hug. Unfortunately, he didn't get a reservation and the wait was too long at the restaurant (first and last time he ever made that mistake!!). However, my favorite cocktail bar (and what I always thought would be the perfect first date spot) was just around the corner so we went there instead! We both pretended we hadn't stalked each other online and acted surprised to learn we went to the same high school. We spent a couple of hours just talking and getting to know each other, then I went home pleasantly surprised - I had heard so many horror stories about Hinge dates, but I had just met a wonderful person and had a great time!!

After a couple of get-to-know-you dates, I knew I really liked Parker. The more I learned about him, the more I admired him! He was so sweet and so easy to be around. From the very beginning, I never got tired of being around him. We could hang out for hours on end, and I would always leave already looking forward to the next time we could hang out. We had been going on dates for a little over a month, and I was ready to make things official but he hadn't asked! Then, he took me to a favorite restaurant, Uchi, for our favorite dessert, fried milk. I managed to spill my dessert all over myself at the nice restaurant (my family won't be surprised), but Parker was not deterred and after dinner on 2/22/22, he asked me to be his girlfriend! It was an easy yes from me.

Over the next year, we made tons of amazing memories and became each other's best friends. We traveled around the country, met each others' families and friends, and did so many cool activities around Dallas. I always tell people that I didn't know Dallas could be so much fun until I started dating Parker and he always had a new activity up his sleeve! Fast forward to March 2023, and Parker matched to the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for his Emergency Medicine residency! I was so proud of him for such an insanely awesome accomplishment, but sad that meant he was going to move. We lived up the remainder of our time together in Dallas, then he packed up his car and moved to Baltimore in early June, beginning the long-distance part of our story!

Over the next year, Parker went above and beyond prioritizing spending time with me every second that he could. He made many trips to Dallas and I made many trips to Baltimore to see him. We even met up in London and Germany in September and went to Oktoberfest together, a bucket list item for both of us! There are many challenges to long-distance relationships, but we grew stronger and made many amazing memories that I will always be thankful for during that season. Almost exactly one year later I packed up my car and moved to DC so that our long-distance relationship could become a short-distance relationship between DC and Baltimore.

Then, in September we embarked on the trip of a lifetime to the Amalfi coast! All of my friends were asking me if I thought Parker would propose on the trip, but I told them no because (1) I was sure traveling with a ring would be stressful and (2) I had meticulously planned every hour of the trip and Parker didn't even know what the plans were, so he wouldn't be able to coordinate anything unless he knew the plans?! …Boy did he prove me wrong on that! We started our adventure in Positano and then when we were in Praiano, Parker started obsessing over the weather for the remainder of our trip - specifically the rain in the forecast in Ravello. I was completely unbothered by the weather - we were on the coast, so it often rains for an hour in the afternoon and then it will be sunny again! We continued on to Capri and he was still obsessively checking his weather app and worrying about the rain. On our last day in Capri, Parker woke up and told me that he had put on his favorite shirt. This was the first sign of the day of what was to come, but I completely missed it in the moment. I just laughed to myself and thought "Why would he wear his favorite shirt for a day where we don’t have big plans and that is primarily just going to be a travel day from Capri to Ravello?! Guess boys just don't think about these things." We started the day with a hike to the top of Monte Solaro in Capri which was gorgeous. Then, we grabbed our luggage and went to the marina to catch our ferry when a huge thunderstorm passed through. I could tell Parker was stressed, but I was unbothered. Who cares if the ferry is late, there are worse places to get stuck than Capri! Little did I know Parker had booked a photographer to meet us in Ravello at sunset. Our ferry departed on time, but the seas were extremely rough. I could tell Parker was distressed and asked him if he was feeling seasick. He said yes, although turns out it wasn't the rough seas that had him feeling queasy. When we docked in Amalfi town, Parker immediately told me to find a cab to take us up the mountain to Ravello. That should have been my second sign because Parker loves public transportation and in any other circumstance would have insisted on taking the bus. Much to our dismay, the thunderstorm had thwarted many people's travel plans and the cabs were fully booked. We finally were able to hop on a bus with 10 minutes to spare before the 6pm time Parker planned to meet the photographers. We took a long, windy bus ride up the mountain and Parker was just staring at his phone. At one point I looked at him and said "Wow, for once, I think I am the chill one between us amidst travel stresses!" Parker paused and looked at me ".....yeah I guess you are!" I had no clue what was coming. On the bus, he said "We should go watch the sunset at one of those villas you were talking about tonight... you pick which one!" This was a genius move on his part if he thought I suspected anything because, once again I am choosing the plans so how could he have anything planned? He was betting I would pick the villa closest to our hotel, which is also where he had photographers waiting and a big plan for the evening. I fell right into his trap, saying "That sounds great!! Let's go to Villa Rufolo since it's closer to our hotel." Exactly the answer he was looking for. We got off the bus, already very late, and Parker rushed us to the hotel. We checked in, dropped our bags at the front desk, and got our room key. I started to walk to go check out our room, but Parker started rushing back toward Villa Rufolo saying "We can get our bags and check out the room later. Let's go to the Villa". I remember thinking "Wow, he's really eager for this sunset" but I didn't question it. After all, it was one of our last sunsets on the Amalfi coast! We rushed to the Villa and practically ran to the overlook to get a final glimpse of the sun just before it went over the horizon. "This trip has been an adventure of a lifetime" he said as we watched the sun disappear over the Mediterranean, "and I can't wait for a lifetime of adventure with you." Only then, did things start to click about what was happening, when he dropped down on one knee and said, "I have a question, will you marry me?"

We are elated to embark on the adventure that is marriage together and honored to have all of you as part of our celebration. Each of you has played a meaningful role in our lives and helped shape the people we are today. We could not be more excited for 9.13.2025!