Isaiah's point of view:

(My Intoxicated POV)This story starts on a not-so-normal, cold, and cloudy night. If you’re wondering, I’m referring to a very specific Spooky Halloween Party.

I hesitated to attend this party because I kept calling my bro, but there was no reply. In my head, I didn’t want to go alone.. THREE HOURS LATER, there’s a phone call from him. First words out of his mouth, “I’m up, let’s go to the party lol”. We meet up and head out. Boom. My buddy (Kev) and I walk through the door as Jesus and the Krusty Krab employee fashionably late. No doubt in our minds we were ready to save and serve. Not even 10 minutes later, Wiley introduced me to this cute minion. Cough, cough, I meant Scuba Steve. Yes, I was thoroughly corrected by her and everyone around. Apparently, she’s some type of King/Queen of Halloween costumes, and it’s her favorite holiday to go all out. Not only was that embarrassing, think I was given negative points or aura. For the rest of the night, anytime I saw her, I would book it in a different direction.

Fast-forward through the wee hours of the night, we are both sitting at the same round table! For the life of me, I don’t recall who brought up the Dragon Ball Z franchise, but my ears perked up and eyes dialed in. She says it’s me… Thoughts and ideas started flying everywhere from around the table. Kiersten and I started going back and forth arguing a little, which was very interesting to say the least. Found out through the argument/conversation that we have the same love for Piccolo. Professionally and personally, sparks started flying and we hit it off. We didn’t necessarily start talking that night, but a few months later do to unforeseen circumstances. Who would’ve known anime would draw two people together? Two years later, here we are getting married. Shout out to Wiley Paylor for the party invite and introducing my soon-to-be wife! I love you Kiersten, see you September 27, 2025.

Kiersten's point of view:

Since Isaiah gave his first-person experience, I suppose I better follow suit. I arrived at the Halloween party late due to an elaborate costume. This year I was dressed as Scuba Steve from Adam Sandler’s movie, Big Daddy. Hobbling in with my flippers on, I scanned the party and made eye contact with none other than Jesus… Well, not direct eye contact since my goggles were already fogging up. Since I already knew most of the people at the party, I remember wondering who this random guy was staring at me? Then I remembered I walked in wearing this...

So, to be fair, I would have stared too. This is where our stories differ. I spent most of the night in the backyard at the table talking to friends. Later in the night/morning, he came outside and loudly asked, “Are you a Minion?!?!”. Everyone around us, including his buddy Kyeven, corrected him as I said, “SCUBA STEVE! DAMN YOU! (which is a quote from the movie). By this point in the night my flippers and oxygen tanks made from 2 liters were in another room. So, I went to retrieve them and show off. He insisted that wasn’t necessary, but indeed... it was. The party continues with chatter all around, and Isaiah overhears a conversation I am having about the recent movie that came out Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. Next thing you know, he’s sitting next to me and the debate begins… I’ll leave out the nerdy details, but at one point he said they made Piccolo a “simp” and that led to further debate. Debate led to banter, banter led to laughter, and laughter to flirting. All during this time, he thought he was discreetly nudging and throwing looks at Kyeven. Eventually they left for the night, and we parted ways.

A few months later, I received a friend request on Facebook. I sent a screenshot to Wiley and asked, “Isn’t this Jesus from Halloween?”. Little did I know he had already been asking about me. We began chatting and went on our first date on February 7th, 2023. He was already seated when the hostess walked me to the table. I say hello as I sit across from him, and Isaiah immediately starts giggling and acting like he forgot how to sit in a booth, squirming and partially sliding under the table as if to hide. I wonder to myself, what happened to the cocky guy at Halloween? But that moment was when I first saw the blushing, coy grin I would grow to love and adore. He would later tell me that he acted that way because he was “awestruck” by my beauty, which had to be one of the most flattering compliments I have ever been given… only for me to retort, “A little different from Scuba Steve, huh?”. And we’ve been inseparable since! I love you Isaiah, I can not wait to see what the rest of our lives bring <3

Bonus quote from the bride’s mother- “He must have liked you for your personality if he thought you were cute in THAT outfit…”