It all started one night in Shanghai in 2015...
"There were signs. The invitation here, the late-night text there. The excitement, smiles, and sincerity—all of which I was too clueless to notice. Then came one early summer night, fueled by cheap drinks and music in a dimly lit Shanghai Karaoke establishment. A missing cell phone, a search through a maze of hallways, a slowed pace, an interlocking of arms, a quiet “can I kiss you?”
I saw fireworks, and my oblivious mind tried to come to its senses by blurting out “sorry, but are you gay?”
A few years down a rocky road, I can proudly confirm that we both are."
- www.nytimes.com/2019/05/28/style/tiny-modern-love-stories-hey-is-not-heyy.html
But first, let's go back to the beginning.
Liz and Bea met on the very first night of their study abroad program in Shanghai in March, 2015. Some might say their meeting wasn't particularly romantic, as they said their first words to each other in a bathroom. But, clearly, that's how all the greatest love stories start.
Bea knew right away that she had to have Liz's number - or WeChat - but the moment passed and both returned to their seats to battle their jet lag and watch a Sichuan Opera show over dinner.
The next time Liz and Bea crossed paths was a few days later during a citywide scavenger hunt when their teams bumped into each other. Both groups found themselves stuck on the same clue and agreed to work together. Of course, that was before Bea's team cheated, ran off, and stole third place from Liz and her friends. Some say Liz still holds a grudge to this day...but Bea did manage to get Liz's WeChat.
As the semester went on, Liz and Bea ran in different circles and took separate classes, but still managed to find each other on group outings, at Ellen's Bar, and on campus. Liz was still oblivious to all of Bea's attempts to hangout, but was always thrilled to say yes to another fun activity.
Finally, one night in early June, Bea invited Liz to join her and her friends for KTV (private-room karaoke), and Liz arrived around midnight. It was a great time! A few hours later, as everyone made the long trek home, Bea asked Liz if she wanted to go watch the sunrise. But, for the first time in her entire life, Liz was tired, and didn't know where to watch the sunrise in Shanghai. However, no one had ever asked Liz to watch the sunrise before! She didn't want to miss it, so she asked if they could reschedule for about a week later. Bea agreed, and they made a plan to meet at 4 am to go to The Bund and watch the sun rise over Pudong, the business district East of the Huangpu River.
Over the next few days, Liz told all of her friends that she had plans to go watch the sunrise with her friend Bea. Liz's pals looked at her like she was crazy and asked her if she knew she'd been asked on a date. Liz, oblivious as always, was shocked and insisted that this couldn't be true; friends watch the sunrise together all the time. Paige and Ben sadly shook their heads and laughed, telling Liz to enjoy her date next week. As it turned out, it wouldn't take the full week for Liz to finally figure it all out.
The following Thursday night was yet another KTV party, and if you read the last slide, you'll know how that went! The next 48 hours felt eternal as Liz and Bea both waited for what Liz now knew was a sunrise date. When the morning arrived, they met up as planned at 4 am outside the Family Mart, took a taxi to the Bund, and talked for hours as the sun came up over the skyscrapers. They got yelled at by security guards for lying down on benches and met a teenager from New Zealand who claimed he had just stolen a bulldozer on a side street. It was strange, and surreal, and magical, and they were both exhausted, but the one certain thing was that there was a very special connection between them that neither could ignore.
Let's try this again?
Liz and Bea spent as much time together as they could for the rest of the semester, but in the end, they parted ways, with Liz returning to St. Lawrence to finish college, and Bea heading home for a visit before moving to Taiwan to teach English. Life happened, and they drifted apart a few months later. But, as fate would have it, they drifted back together again.
Liz and Bea became close friends while Bea was back in Arizona and as Liz was finishing up her senior year and preparing to move back to Shanghai for grad school. Through an abundance of texts, calls, and video chats, each became one of the other's closest confidantes and supports. Soon, Bea accepted a job teaching in Hong Kong and made her own plans to travel back across the pond. While neither Liz nor Bea knew what to expect, Bea decided to make a quick stop in Shanghai on her way to Hong Kong to visit her old stomping grounds...and to see Liz.
From the moment Liz and Bea reconnected, Liz knew that she couldn't let Bea go again. She knew that if she did, there might not ever be another opportunity like this one. They were nearly inseparable during Bea's trip, and even on one of the few days that they had separate plans, they ran into each other on a subway platform when Liz stepped off the train and Bea was sitting on a bench waiting to get on. In a city of 23 million, a coincidence like that is no small feat.
The next few days were a blur, but their limited time in the same city loomed over Liz and Bea's heads. Finally, a few nights before Halloween, they sat on the curb of a quiet Shanghai street late in the evening and Liz told Bea how she felt, hoping Bea would feel the same. Liz has never been so lucky as when Bea said that she did.
2016 → 2021
They made it official on October 30, 2016, and the rest, as they say, is history. Though Liz was in Shanghai and Bea was in Hong Kong, they made it work and flew back and forth to visit as much as possible until Bea was able to find a job and move to Shanghai to stay. Liz and Bea share a serious passion for travel and adventure, and have explored China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Mexico, and various parts of the U.S. together. Their relationship has taken them from Shanghai to Phoenix and from Phoenix to Chicago over the past 6 years, and they have proudly become moms to two precious rescue cats, Huohuo and Bingbing.
Will you marry me?
Liz and Bea knew for a long time that they wanted to get married. So, on October 30, 2021, after some careful planning and secretive Amazon orders of "early Christmas gifts," Liz told Bea she was cooking a special anniversary meal and that they would be taking some anniversary photos later, then sent her out to get a coffee and her nails done. In reality, Liz was frantically vacuuming the living room, setting up tripods, rearranging some spooky Halloween decorations, preparing a cheese board with champagne, and putting tuxedos on the cats. While out, Bea contemplated buying a new shirt for the photos, but decided against it, still in the dark about what was coming up. When Bea arrived home, Liz nervously said it was time to take the photos before eating and posed Bea in the ideal spot between the cameras. With their VIP feline guests in attendance, Liz popped the question, and breathed a sigh of relief when Bea said yes!
Why get engaged once when you can do it twice?
Bea knew that she wanted to propose back to Liz, and a few months later, she figured out how. Bea decided to bring it allll the way back to that first fateful night. On June 4, 2022, Bea tricked Liz into bringing a friend to meet her for "dinner" at a "new Yunnan place" in Chinatown. Christian expertly steered Liz out the door and across town. Bea said she was running late (Liz was thrilled to be the one who was on time for once), and Christian asked to check out a KTV place in the area in order to prepare for a friend's birthday party. Just as oblivious as she was 6 years ago, Liz followed along, explaining sincerely to the KTV employees that they just wanted to take a quick look. Christian was running awfully fast down a long hallway, and Liz tried to keep up until Bea suddenly appeared out of nowhere and pulled her into a karaoke room.
Liz's question, "what are you doing here?" was quickly answered by a beautiful set up and a reminder of this place and date 7 years ago a world away. Obviously, she said yes, too!
Click here for a sneak peek of our venue and some extra pictures of our proposal days!