The beginning started slow. They first met at a mutual friends Easter cookout in 2022, and barely exchanged anything except names and some advice from Ana about how to make a good caipirinha. From there their lives continued as they did until a camping trip organized by mutual friends Brent and Lu. Brent asked Will if he could give a ride to a few people up to Grand Lake, including one of Lu’s friends: Ana Paula. Again, the ride up to the campsite, the camping trip, and drive back were quite uneventful, and while the trip was enjoyable, little was exchanged between them except polite conversation and a wonderful shared experience in the Colorado wilderness.

A week later Will was at the Stadium Inn with some friends when Lu asked him what he thought about Ana because apparently, she had talked to Lu about him. Will responded that he did not know what to think about her, then realizing this was not a good answer, waffled about his opinion of Ana for a bit before the conversation turned to other things. After that night three things happened in rather rapid succession: Will did a bit more thinking about Ana, realized he had an extra ticket for a Killers concert thanks to a birthday gift from his dear sister Katherine, and asked Ana if she would go (though he may have been vague about how many people were attending with them). For Ana this was their first date, for Will it was two weeks later when he actually took her to dinner, beginnings can be such fuzzy things.

Still, something had begun. And between many late nights in loud places, and early mornings in cozy ones, they became closer and more important too each other. They spent much time together, and less time apart until they eventually they began living together and spent most of their moments, both awake and asleep, side by side. As it was is the beginning, Ana was ready to marry Will before he was ready to marry Ana, but he caught up eventually. And then, on the 5th of November, a small plot came to fruition on a crisp fall day as golden hour drew to a close: a question asked and an answer given. Some of the finer details are disputed, but then again beginnings can be such fuzzy things.

Since that day, their lives have been different and the same. They are together, even more so than before, but their place has changed and they have left their friends and community in Denver to build a new home in Atlanta, a city both foreign and familiar. Hopefully, you can join them this April and give them wisdom, guidance, and cheer, as they continue this new beginning. No doubt, this one will be remembered with crystal clarity.