Alex and Jessica had both attended Hammonton High School, graduating from the very same class in 2012. However, this is not technically when their actual love story began. Being that they ran in completely different social circles, they had hardly crossed paths at all during their time in high school.

Though so close in proximity in their adolescence, they barely spoke in school and went onto pursue their respective educations post graduation, with Alex attending Penn State in Pennsylvania and Jessica attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. But it was these years away that began to mold them into the adults who would soon begin writing their love story together.

Fast forward to 2019, and through a chance encounter at an apartment party, they found themselves in the same space again. But this time, Alex had taken notice and decided to make a move. With Jessica attending the party with a mutual friend, Alex saw his window of opportunity and requested a chance to connect.

The start of their courtship was primarily through text, as Jessica had quite a full plate between living in South Jersey, working in New York City and preparing for her final year of competition at Miss New Jersey. Alex's schedule was no walk in the park either, being a South Jersey native himself and making the long commute to Exton Pennsylvania for work. And yet, when they did find time to see each other, they were only but minutes away from one's another's homes.

Alex had even gone the extra mile, sitting through not just one night of preliminary pageant competitions for Jessica, but surprising her the final night as well. She may have not taken home the title, but she walked away with something far more valuable in a burgeoning partnership with Alex.

But in a new age of casual partnerships, how does one know when you are technically "exclusive?" That is what Jess set out to decide when Alex invited her away for 4th of July weekend of 2019 with his family. When the opportunity arose, she blurted "Am I your girlfriend?" to which Alex gave a resounding "Yes, yes you are" and thus, their fate was sealed.

As 2019 came to a close and 2020 rolled around, we soon found ourselves in the midst of lockdown. This presented both opportunities of endless time isolating together, as well as longer stints apart when true isolation became necessary for quarantine purposes. When Jess had to quarantine away from Alex for a month straight, it was evident how much they cared about each other once reunited. Thus, a new chapter was ushered in of spending time traveling together, attending holiday family gatherings, supporting one another through academic achievement, and celebrating milestones while becoming inextricably tied into one another's lives.

While marriage had been a loose discussion brought up from time to time, Jess could not have anticipated its timing, lending to the element of surprise Alex was keen on maintaining. February had been a wonderful month of celebrating for the two, with this being the birthday month for both of them. But what Jess initially thought was a night out to celebrate Alex's 30th birthday turned out to be a very special night for both of them.

After a fabulous dinner, in a beautiful quiet hall at the Philadelphia Art Museum, Alex got down on one knee and asked Jess to continue celebrating with him for the rest of their lives, and he asked her to marry him. After a few moments of being completely stunned and probably giving Alex the biggest internal anxiety attack ever, she gained her composure and said yes!

From here, their next chapter has taken shape, planning the future celebration that will unite them together. They hope to have a wedding that will be one for the books, surrounded by their big loving group of friends and family.

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