June 22, 2016. It was a pretty typical Thursday for Lillie. A new bar to check out with good food, solid drinks, fun decor - but Riley's presence made it so much better. They clicked immediately over a shared love for travel, good food, dystopia literature and Tom Selleck's mustache.
Early on, Lillie and Riley's shared love of travel led to a trip to Atlanta to see Lillie's absolute favorite animal: penguins. They spent the trip talking about all the places they'd want to travel and trying all the food, Atlanta had to offer.
If you can survive a 18+ hour flight together: you can do anything together. These lovebirds took a 2 week long trip around Singapore and China together, worked through language barriers, navigated long lines and crowds, and stayed together off the beaten path.
Lillie & Riley moved from Dupont Circle to a cozy one bedroom in Northeast D.C. The moving process of joining two studio apartments + stuff together was an ordeal but a worthwhile one :).
With only an iguana as their witness, Riley proposed to Lillie at a secluded cliffside brunch spot overlooking Uvita, Costa Rica. Rather than saying yes, Lillie said "where's the ring and photographer?!"
Riley has since made it up to her by re-proposing - with a ring & photographer - in D.C., Los Angeles and all over Bali.
The ring is a custom hexagonal design created by the couple featuring a diamond passed down from Riley's grandmother.
First comes ring - then comes BABY! Puppy that is.
After much persistence and pinky-promises that she'd be so so good about walking and picking up after a puppy*, Lillie convinced Riley to let them adopt sweet baby Manchego in October 2018. He is the light of their life, their sweet little loaf, baby shark and demon child.
*Riley walks him...
What a scholastically minded couple: Lillie finished her Master's at Georgetown in Spring 2019 and Riley started his MBA at UChicago Booth in autumn 2019.