Our story begins in 2013 as freshman in Mrs. Elwood's English class. We met thanks to the seating chart being in alphabetical order. Sometimes Allana would daydream and then get called on in the middle of class, and Brandon would whisper the answer to her. One day, Allana asked one of Brandon's friends for his phone number, and they began finding excuses to text each other. It started off with what the homework was for that day, then how each others days were, and slowly progressed from there. We spent time together during competitions in marching band, and would always sit next to each other on the bus. We would pretend to fall asleep on each other just to get closer (we were not asleep, nor resting the full weight of our heads on each others shoulders because we were scared teenagers). After getting to know each other in English and band class, it took a whole year of hints until we finally began dating on January 3rd, 2015. We shared an interest and passion for the environment, more specifically for the ocean.

After graduating high school, we both went to El Camino Community College. Allana was accepted in spring 2020 to transfer to Cal State University of Monterey Bay (CSUMB) for fall 2021, and we were worried we would have to do long distance. Due to the pandemic, Allana was home for her first year at CSUMB. Brandon transferred there as well a year later, and classes were finally in person again! This allowed us to take the next step in our relationship: moving in together! Both of us were at school for one year before Allana graduated in spring 2022. She got an internship in a lab at a wastewater treatment plant surrounded by farm fields. One day a cat showed up that was overly friendly and immediately trusting. Someone spotted her coming out of a pipe, and she was then known as Piper. Everyone at the plant loved her except the plant manager who said she needed to go (so mean). Allana would show up to work in the winter with the ground covered in frost, knowing the cat was somewhere nearby. After a few weeks, she joked about taking her home. Allana discussed it by Brandon who was so excited! He even came to her work one day and Piper greeted him in the parking lot and jumped onto his lap! Everyone at work was immediately on board, and donated everything we needed. We brought her home and she wasted no time settling in.

Allana worked a few jobs while Brandon finished his last year and graduated in spring 2023. We received job offers for the same job around the time their lease was going to end in June 2023 and decided to move back down to Torrance with Piper. We began working as laboratory technicians for the City of Los Angeles in the Microbiology lab. At this point, we were each living at our parents' houses for a few months until we found an apartment in town. Just over a year after we started working, we hear the smallest meowing sounds coming from our coworkers car, and there was a newborn kitten under the hood! We immediately wrapped her in a jacket and drove to a pet shop to get everything we needed. We researched as much as we could, but also learned on the job when it came to caring for the newborn. Coordinating feedings every two hours was a full time job, on top of already having a full time job! After one month of caring for her, not knowing if she would survive, we finally named her Bean. She is the newest addition to our little family, and definitely the craziest! She is the opposite of Piper who is so calm and gentle, but they are slowly growing on each other. Our days now consist of working together, and caring for our kitties.

After 10 years of being together, we finally went on our first trip to Hawaii. Many adventures and a ton of great food led to a memorable trip. Our vacation become even more memorable on May 8th. Brandon proposed during sunset at Cannon's Beach on the north shore of Kauai.

So here we are, with our wedding at the South Coast Botanic Gardens in Palos Verdes. We are both excited to celebrate with everyone and start a new chapter in our story!