They have a tendency of doing things backwards, she told me.

In their teenage years, they actually convinced people they were siblings. She, being three years older than him, took him under her wing as her “younger brother” and coached him in all the ways of being a gentleman. She told him what girls like in a guy, how they want to be treated, and how to be a good boyfriend. Little did she know how great that training would pay off later.

They remained steadfast friends and pretend siblings through their teens and she became engaged when she was 22. When the engagement broke apart, he became her shoulder to cry on. With his help, she packed her belongings, her dog, and her cat and moved out of her ex-fiancé’s apartment and back to her parents’ house. She needed a fresh start.

Not too long after, Andrew was looking for a new roommate. They casually hopped onto the idea of rooming together. In their 800 square foot digs, they introduced their pets—he also has a dog and a cat—and continued in their every-strong friendship. (I mention the square footage because, remember, that brings the total now to 2 adults, 2 dogs, and 2 cats. And she swears that the pets sometimes plot against them. This terrifies me!)

Things started changing though. She noticed that she would get jealous if he would bring home a girlfriend. She noticed that he was handsome and charming. She noticed that the “little brother” that she had helped train many years before was now a tall, lean man who had taken her advice seriously. And she wanted him for herself.

He knew he was handsome and that his 14-year-old height had drastically changed. When he brought girls home, it wasn’t because he wanted to make her jealous, but because he didn’t think she’d care. But then things started to make sense the night she brought a guy to the apartment. Whether or not she cared, he cared. That “older sister” who had divulged the secrets of females years before was now someone he cared about in bigger ways than he had ever thought possible.

As they both worked through their own thought processes of each other, they decided to talk it out. It turned out that they both felt the same way. Thus began a new phase of their relationship.

They are planning a beautiful, intimate, outdoor wedding this fall and I am so thrilled beyond words to be a part of it.

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