OUR STORY

How it Began

Like any respectable 21st century couple, we met through on dating app (Hinge worked for us, we highly recommend). Andrew opened with "I work at a nonprofit too." (He does not). But Ellen humored him and thought, "Okay, I'll play along." 

After a couple days talking, we met IRL (in real life) for a first date at the Chicago History Museum.  It was a Tuesday in June 2018. Four hours later, date culminated in a long walk, tacos, and margaritas. There, we learned we lived a block and a half away from each other our senior year at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where Andrew majored in Electrical Engineering and Ellen in French.

Immediately after we got home, Andrew suggested we go on another date, Ellen obliged. It was a Thursday and this time at a Second City comedy show, but en français and the opening skit was in German. Ellen speaks French fluently (Andrew took four years in high school). Ellen was laughing the whole time, Andrew was laughing at Ellen laughing the whole time. Andrew kissed Ellen on the platform while waiting for our trains to take us in opposite directions. 

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And then it was Saturday. We met again. We took a long walk from the Roosevelt red line stop to the Museum Campus to Northerly Island to Buckingham Fountain, all the way south to Andrew's apartment in the South Loop. There, we watched WALL-E, a movie that believe it or not, has very little dialogue. 

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By the next Friday, it was official. And the rest is history.

(well more happened, you can read the full story here)