Our story begins in a way that could only be described as unexpectedly perfect, at a grunge bar called Cool Runnings, surrounded by neon lights, loud music, and the comforting nostalgia of Jägermeister and pool chalk.
 

Despite both of us being regulars there (unknowingly and separately, for years), fate,  or perhaps poor lighting, had kept us hidden from each other… until one fateful night, when an ordinary evening turned into something unforgettable. I was sitting with my sister and her husband, right near the manager’s table… which is where Andrew happened to be seated.
 

The meet-cute? A classic over-the-shoulder chirp. I was mid-sentence (loudly, because it’s a bar and I’m me) when Andrew tossed a comment into the conversation like a grenade made of sass. I tossed one right back. He smirked. I rolled my eyes. And so began the battle of wit that would later become our love language.
 

Andrew, ever the opportunist,  sorry, strategist,  clocked who I was with and seized the opportunity to challenge my sister and brother-in-law to a game of pool,  under the thinly veiled excuse of “friendly competition.” Was he focused on winning? Not at all. To this day, he has no clue who actually won. What he does know is that he got to talk to me — which, in his words, “was the real trophy.”
 

Later that night, a spontaneous after-party emerged (thanks to our local chaos coordinator and unofficial matchmaker), and somehow, as the crowd thinned and the chaos mellowed, it was just the two of us,  Andrew and Gelaine,  sitting in the middle of the madness, quietly choosing each other. We talked. We laughed. The noise faded, and something calm and surprisingly real took its place.
 

That was almost five years ago, and since then, we’ve grown up. Our time together has been filled with cheek-aching laughter, debates with no clear winners (unless you ask Andrew), spontaneous adventures, and a love that started in the loudest room but grew in all the quiet ones after.
 

We’ve both evolved, sometimes challenging one another, always supporting one another. I still firmly believe I’m the prize (naturally), but life wouldn’t be complete without Andrew. And Andrew? He now knows that life with me means no more curtainless bachelor pads… 
 

As for the rest?
 

It brought us here - to this moment, hand in hand, ready for forever.
 

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