Meredith

While we have been dating since June of 2008, our story is much more interesting! We met back in the fall of 2002 at a house party, while both attending the University of Oregon in Eugene. Our love for music (and likely because we were both wearing band t-shirts) helped break the ice and we chatted for hours...even as police showed up to break up the gathering and make everyone quiet down. We met up for a lunch date and both borrowed copies of our then-favorite books to read. We got together two or three times after that but nothing really materialized. I (Meredith) was disappointed and embarrassed -- especially since Eugene is such a small town and we managed to run into each other everywhere (I also just wanted my beloved paperback copy of 1984 back)! Fast forward to 2005, when we both relocated to Portland: I still saw him around every corner, on the bus, at concerts, and he even filled in on drums for my friend's band. It was unbelievable! We typically would mumble an awkward hello to one another but that was about it. In the fall of 2007, I headed out to a goodbye party for Alex, a work friend moving abroad, and was shocked to see him at the event as well. I decided it was high time to be civil with one another, so we chatted for a while. Abruptly, he got up and told me he was going to run home and grab the book he'd borrowed five years before. He raced back into the room, breathless, about 20 minutes later with my copy of 1984 in hand. Though he asked for my number that night, I resisted, and we managed to exist in separate planes up until the following June, when a chance encounter brought us back together. We made plans to meet and talk about our jobs, as he was looking to break into my industry. Though that seemed harmless enough, the career discussion actually was a date -- now considered our "second first date," and we've been together ever since! Friends and family see us as a great pair who compliment each other's personailities so well. We're so appreciative to have each other and have so much fun together. We're looking forward to experiencing life together as husband and wife!