In this modern world, it is not uncommon to encounter people who met their soulmate on the internet. No shortage of happy couples can point to an online dating service – or even MySpace and Facebook – as ground zero for their forever story.

Well, how about Twitter?

In March 2011, a combination of dry wit and great eyebrows led us to follow each other on Twitter. After eight years of mutually enjoying each other’s content, we finally met in person in July 2019.

We clicked instantly. However, we were reluctant to explore any romantic interests, given that we lived in two different countries. Anything beyond friendship didn’t seem feasible. After a fun weekend together, we went our separate ways and continued with the long-distance friendship that we had already established.

Several months passed and a second meeting was planned. And on Friday, December 13th, 2019 any concerns about distance or nationality were thrown out the window. Making a relationship work wasn’t any less improbable to us, we just no longer cared about the odds. Our feelings for each other blossomed from curiosity to inevitability. Bolstered by a bond forged over nearly a decade, we believed that we could overcome any obstacles.

But little did we know what lay ahead.

While establishing our version of ‘normal’, COVID-19 shut down the world. After only a few visits together, we, like many other binational couples (and families), were no longer permitted to cross the U.S.A./Canada border, indefinitely.

But a loophole allowed us to spend Christmas 2020 together in Cancun, Quintana Roo, some nine months after the border closure. We were finally able to hug, laugh, kiss…and do all the little things that many couples take for granted. For us, Cancun was no longer just a tourist destination but a refuge from the chronic uncertainty that would drag on for another nine months.

It wasn't until 8 months later, in August 2021, that border restrictions had finally loosened and we were able to begin breathing life into all of the plans that we had made during our 18 months apart. Things like never missing another holiday or birthday together and watching New Kids On The Block perform in their hometown of Boston.

But none more significant than planning our wedding.

On Thursday, May 25th 2023, we got engaged in Toronto’s Yonge & Dundas Square, the site of our first date nearly 4 years earlier. You can imagine how special that place is to us…but it’s not Cancun.

So, please accept this invitation to be involved in the wedding that we weren’t sure would ever be possible…in the place that kept our dream alive.