Some love stories begin with a glance. Ours began with a friendship. We met at UCSD — two people who had no idea what was ahead of them. For a while we were just friends, until one day we weren't. Covid gave us something unexpected: time to realize what we meant to each other, even across the distance. We spent years apart — different cities, different time zones, different chapters — but always finding our way back. We explored new places together, met each other's families, and somewhere along the way it stopped feeling like visits and started feeling like home. From Riya's grad school to residency across the country, distance became just another thing we conquered together. Through every transition, every milestone, every hard day and celebratory dinner, we grew. Now, after all of it, we're both back in San Diego — and ready to begin the best chapter yet. We wanted our wedding to feel like us — warm, colorful, full of joy, and surrounded by the people who made this journey possible. Punta Cana felt exactly right.