Our story began with a time-freezing glance across a club in San Francisco and has taken us on an eight-year journey spanning the blessings and challenges of life. A shared sense of wonder for the wilderness and the humbling perspective it provides has always been the foundation of our relationship.

Our second date was a pursuit through the wintry Mojave Desert in search of a little-known hot spring, tucked away in a vast canyon that only revealed itself through a slow-rising sulfuric steam. That night, we slept in the bed of Juliana’s truck under a thick pile of blankets encased in a hard ice cap. We drifted off beneath the cold winter sky, illuminated by a full moon—just as we will on the night of our wedding. We even had the privilege of listening to a choir of coyotes, who offered us a possibly too-intimate evening serenade.

This would be the first of many adventures across the vast beauty of California’s mountains, rivers, islands, deserts, and forests. After Ben moved to Singapore, the story wandered across Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines. The scenes changed, but the feeling always remained the same. After finishing his work in Asia, Ben returned to the U.S., only to be welcomed by the pandemic, during which Juliana was in her hospital rotation while completing her master's degree. The two returned to Juliana’s home in Sonora, an old mining town nestled in the foothills of the Sierras. What started as “10 days to flatten the curve” turned into a year and a half—and a taste of their dream of simpler, more present living.

It wouldn’t be a true love story without tribulations. Ours included over a year apart, but despite the physical distance, our hearts and souls never budged an inch. After a grueling year and a series of signs, Ben reached out to Juliana to reconnect—incidentally, on a full moon. The next day, Ben hopped on a flight to chase her down in her new home of San Diego. While Juliana intended to make it a gradual transition, higher powers had no more patience for their separation. A mold infestation abruptly forced her out of her home, while a once-in-a-generation bank collapse untethered Ben from his life in San Francisco. With all obstacles removed, Ben moved to San Diego to start a new chapter with Juliana. Shortly after, Ben proposed to Juliana on Pinecrest Lake, where she’d grown up at her family's cabin—yes, again, under a full moon.

And that brings us to April 12th, when you become part of our story. We love you all and are so grateful for the effort everyone is putting into joining us on this big day. Safe travels and we will see you soon!