On July 16th, 2022, the stars aligned. Both of us, Midwesterners who had recently moved to Phoenix and didn’t know a soul, ended up at a new bar, Palma, for the first time, completely unaware that our lives were about to change. It seemed like a crazy coincidence.

Ashlyn had just gotten a promotion at work that Friday, so she decided to celebrate with some friends. Meanwhile, Cole and his friends, who were in town visiting him, were on the other side of the bar.

Ashlyn and her friends were waiting for a table when Billy, a friend of Cole’s (who Cole didn’t even know yet but is now in the wedding), wandered over to chat. Billy, always the friendly and flirty guy, tried to strike up a conversation with Cole and his friends, but Cole wasn’t having it. “Billy, we’re not doing this right now,” he said, but he added, “I am interested in talking to that girl over there.”

That “girl” was Ashlyn, standing at the bar, sipping her spicy margarita (with Tajín, of course). She didn’t think anyone was watching as she licked the Tajín off the rim (it’s a thing, okay?), but Cole noticed.

Cole and Billy walked over, and Cole's first words were, “Do you drink all your drinks like that?” Ashlyn was so caught off guard and a bit embarrassed, thinking, “Well, no one was supposed to see that.” But apparently, Cole thought it was funny.

We started talking, and before we knew it, we realized we had something in common: we were both from the Midwest, and we’d both moved to Arizona recently. It felt like a funny little sign, like the universe had brought us together in this big city that felt so far from home.

Not long after, Ashlyn’s table was ready, so she and her friends moved to sit down to eat. But Cole, being a flirt, decided to follow them inside. Of course, being the charming guy he is, he didn’t just stop at the table—he casually walked right up to join the group in the booth and made himself comfortable. Naturally, Ashlyn’s friends didn’t waste time grilling him with questions: “Where are you from? What brought you to Phoenix? So why aren't you with your friends right now? Do you have any hidden talents?” (Okay, maybe not that last one, but they were definitely trying to figure him out.)

Eventually, Cole had to head out to meet back up with his friends, whom he had ditched, so we said our goodbyes, nice-to-meet-you’s, and parted ways.

Ashlyn and her friends decided to check out another bar down the street after dinner—and guess who they ran into again? Yup, Cole and his crew. As Cole’s friends were getting ready to leave for the night, Cole stayed behind, telling Ashlyn and her friend, “I’m having an afterparty at my place.” (Spoiler alert: there was no afterparty. It was just his excuse to keep hanging out with Ashlyn.) Ashlyn, her friend, and Cole ended up grabbing a ride back to Cole's place on a random party bus that was headed back to the same apartment building. When Ashlyn and her friend got to Cole's "afterparty," they were quickly confused at the lack thereof.

The night went from being a series of random encounters to something a lot more intentional. The spark between us from the start was undeniable. We saw each other a couple of times throughout that week, following the initial weekend we had met. Cole ended up asking Ashlyn on a formal date, which she was very excited and nervous about.

Our first official date was at Postino's, where we sipped one too many bottles of wine, chatting away like we’d known each other forever. We were so wrapped up in conversation that we didn’t even notice we were the last couple left in the restaurant until the waiters started cleaning up around us. Ashlyn couldn’t help but think, Well, I guess that’s a good sign for a first date.

Just 9 days after meeting, Ashlyn already knew that Cole was the one (peep the screenshot above with some edited words because Ash has a potty mouth). There was something electric, something undeniable, something that made her heart race in the best way.

Eventually, Cole asked if we could make things official. But, of course, me being me, I took my sweet time answering—three whole days, to be exact. No real reason, just my way (ha!). Cole said to Ashlyn, "Stop being stubborn and just be with me already"… so naturally, Ashlyn was impressed with Cole calling her out on her stubborn traits.

As the weeks and months passed, it felt like we had known each other for a lifetime. Five months in, we took a leap and moved in together. Our friends and family thought we were absolutely crazy, but we just knew. And that’s when the rest of our story truly began.