We initially met on a dating site, and I attempted to make contact, but did not receive a response. After possibly about a decade, I came upon her profile again and reached out once more. This time, she responded, and we started texting back and forth. I was ready to start phone conversations, but she mentioned that she had a busy schedule and we would not be able to speak for some time. After about a month of texting, we got to talk on the phone, and by this time, I was already really impressed by her personality, her intelligence, and her warmth. Plus, she laughed at my jokes. After video chatting a few times, we met in person for our first date, and I got to see in person how beautiful she was.

On this date, Juanita's beauty was only rivaled by her intelligence, and we were completely engrossed in conversation with one another all night long. I found myself feeling completely at ease with her almost as if we were old friends reuniting.

Throughout the day and evening, we spent together, there had been so many moments of sheer kismet that showed me she and I were going to have an amazing time together. But in the silent, fleeting moments between conversations about everything under the sun, when our eyes would meet, it seemed like we could both tell that something amazing was happening. For me, with every glimpse of her beauty, I felt a stronger attraction to her. With every discussion about our values, I felt more familiar with her and enjoyed her loving and gentle spirit. All this, and it had only been a few hours. By the end of the night, as I drove back home, I just knew I was going to see her again! And I was certain Juanita would become the most important person in my entire life!

We met on a dating site. Bayo’s message stood out to me for several reasons: he was very polite, I could tell that he read my profile, and his grammar and punctuation were on point. I knew immediately that this was an unusual guy, in the best way! We messaged for about a month before our first phone call, and then we talked on the phone for a few weeks before we finally had our first date. But even before our first date, I knew that I would grow to love Bayo. From the very first phone call, we had really meaningful conversations.

For our first date, we met at a smoothie place, Kale Me Crazy (which is in walking distance from our wedding venue), and as soon as I laid eyes on him, I immediately felt calm and comfortable. We were wearing the same color. And I remember thinking that he smelled amazing. We drank our smoothies while we chatted. At some point, I realized that we were holding hands (it felt safe, warm, and enchanting). After smoothies, we went to a restaurant to have dinner, and we realized that we drive the exact same car (down to the model, year, and they are both hybrid). There were tons of crazy coincidences like this throughout the date.

After dinner, we went outside to take a photo and a photographer ,who happened to be walking by with her husband, offered to take the picture for us. To this day, it’s one of my favorite photos of us together, and you would never know it was our first date (check out the photos where we are both wearing burgundy in the gallery).

When it was time for us to go our separate ways, I accidentally locked my keys in my car, forcing Bayo to take me home to get the spare key. It was the perfect accident because it gave us more time together. He took me home, and then back to the restaurant to get my car. As soon as we parted ways, I immediately called my best friend. I knew at that moment that I was about to journey on the most meaningful romantic relationship of my life, and that Bayo was the one for me. I even have a voice note that I recorded that night to prove it!