THE STORY OF US
THE STORY OF US
How We Met
Alexandra and Ubong met the good old fashioned way—Craigslist.
Fine, it was a dating app. Luckily neither had to swipe too far. We met up for drinks at the Canvas Hotel in Dallas.The drinks were mediocre at best, but the conversation was transformative.
A man approached us after a considerable amount of time had passed—unbeknownst to us—and asked how long we had been dating. The shock on his face was palpable when Alexandra told him it was their first date. He said that he had left the bar several hours ago and now found them seemingly lost in the same conversation. That served only as validation for what we both already felt—the blossoming of true love. (Alexandra had already texted a friend that she was going to marry Ubong one day.)
We never slowed down after that. The last few years have been filled with adventure. We’ve been to countless museums, art galleries, and concerts. There hasn’t been an escape room we haven’t been able to solve (there might have been one). We have camped and hiked and road tripped. Weekends have been spent thrifting, eating good food, and watching movies (many not so good).
Most importantly, we have supported each other, celebrated with each other, debated each other(sometimes just for the fun of it), grieved with each other, and laughed together until it hurt. Our love has grown as we have learned to approach each other first with curiosity, grace, forgiveness, empathy, and compassion. That will always be true, even across universes and lifetimes.
The Proposal
Ubong took Alexandra to design her own engagement ring several months before he officially popped the question. If only the anticipation of that moment could be bottled up and sold, neither of us would ever have to work again.
Ubong is the kind of person who quietly listens and takes notes of the things that matter most to the people around him. He remembered Alexandra saying that the Dallas Botanical Gardens would make for good photographs and that she would love to have a photographer capture the moment Ubong proposed. He held on to those thoughts for months while he waited for the right moment.
Around June, Ubong planned a date with Alexandra to the botanical gardens. Alexandra was of course immediately suspicious. The morning of the planned date, Ubong casually mentioned that he found a photographer who does mini sessions at the gardens and had booked her for us. This was the moment that Alexandra knew for sure that Ubong was going to propose to her (she has the text messages to prove it).
We got ready for our photo session in the quiet anticipation of knowing that we were about to take the step step into our journey together. Despite it being a million degrees outside, it was the perfect day.
There was never any doubt that the answer would be yes. We are beyond excited to take this next step together.