On a cold night in November of 2015, Areli & Jonathan were meeting up for date after matching on Tinder 🔥

Jonathan: Knocks on Areli’s door (Knock Knock)

Areli (Opens Door): I thought you said you were athletic? 

Jonathan, usually Bool, Balm, & Bollected, stood there shocked.  She still invited him in, showed off her knife collection, and they decided to stay in and have pizza & listen to music.  Their first meeting was casual, and both thought nothing of it, other than knowing that they’d just met a unique person. As they dated, interest in one another grew. They continued to see each other on weekends, talking over dinners, long drives along the coast, sending each other love songs and revealing secrets—each time getting closer and learning more about the lives they had before meeting one another.

Still, both were afraid to reveal their true feelings…which led to communication ceasing for a while. Luckily, Jonathan didn’t give up. He reached out to Areli one last time to see where this would take them. With trepidation, they continued where they left off, but it wasn’t until Jonathan confessed his love drunkenly from a drive-thru that Areli knew his feelings for her were serious.

She decided to move to San Jose with him in 2019 sometime after graduating university and they got their first apartment in 2020. After a family a loss, they moved to San Francisco in 2023 with their cat Aki. Shortly after, another family loss left them grief stricken, but still their bond remained strong.

Still living in SF, Jonathan continues to run the family business while Areli is attending graduate school to become a therapist.

Over the years, their relationship was put through many tests that required courage, patience, empathy, resilience and trust. In this latest phase of their lives, Jonathan and Areli now understand that life is too short to wait for things to happen. Participating in the ritual of marriage is their way of solidifying their commitment to one another with unconditional love. They hope you will be present to share your love on this momentous life transition!