Adam and Sarah never really should have met, except they did, almost, in the summer of 2005. Adam attended high school at Crooms, a technology magnet school, deemed the high school for nerds (which everyone who went there was totally fine with). Sarah went to Seminole High School which was right down the road, but worlds apart, as she wasn't a can-build-a-computer-from-spare-parts kind of nerd, she was in Thespians (pre-Glee) (read: before it was cool). As fate would have it they had exactly one friend in common. And that friend was hosting a pool party to celebrate the end of Sophmore Year, both Adam and Sarah were in attendance.

 

Some of you reading this might not remember high school being a time before social media ran our lives, but for us, it was... awesome. Memory is hazy, but us and 20 other kids ran around, swam, drank Mountain Dew, took pictures on our flip phones, ate pizza, played Marco Polo (duh) and ended the night watching Wet Hot American Summer. Quintessential teenage stuff. Andddddddddd Adam and Sarah never even shook hands. Plot twist! Sarah though did (thankfully) exchange Myspace usernames with a few of Adam's friends, as she was intrigued with the kids who wore all black to a pool party. So, the friends in common grew, as did the chances for their next chance meeting to be one where they met. 

 

Ever been to a theme park with someone who doesn't ride rollercoasters? Well, love has a funny way of putting ridiculous things in your path to make sh*t happen. Sarah grew up riding rollercoasters with her mom, a couple of badasses really. Adam, in modern times, claims to have ridden every rollercoaster Vegas has to offer. No wonder these two end up getting married. Right after Junior year began, Adam and Sarah are now roaming around in similar friend groups, still never meeting, and heading to Halloween Horror Nights "Sweet 16". Back then, your HHN ticket included entry to Universal's Islands of Adventure right next door for just a few hours before HHN opened. From Universal's perspective this probably served as a sort of insurance policy of going into HHN happy before being chased by chainsaw wielding clowns all night. Only a few of us agreed to take part in this perk, once again Adam and Sarah are forced into a shared space, will they shake hands?

 

The wait times for all the rides were crazy, understandably, chainsaws are scary and we also want to ride Spiderman before inciting trauma. All of us attempt to make quick work of going on as many rides as possible. The group soon turns the corner to display the glory that was The Dueling Dragons (RIP), a red and blue pair of coasters that are fast, like to go upside down, and are trapped in a battle that will never end. We miss you, and Harry Potter Land is cool but, they could've just kept a pair of dueling dragon coasters... it's pretty on theme. Sarah exclaims that she's willing to wait the marked 2+hour wait, no one else is, everyone is claiming they don't ride rollercoasters, everyone except...Adam. So, they shook hands. And proceeded to stand in line for 2 hours. Beginning something so big and important, they had no way of knowing. It sounds unrealistic and improbable to say that the two were instant best friends, but, it's true. They had fun waiting in the hot Florida sun, never noticing time slipping, just them, getting to know each other, clicking, clicking, clicking. Two 15 year olds, now two 35 year olds. They emerged close, and that never changed. 

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It's hard to write a love story that spans 20 years. Sometimes words can do nothing but fail at describing just how deeply we love someone, just how complete a life can become by the addition of one special person. Love may transcend our language, our art, but even when you can’t explain it, you can feel it. We hope to see you at our wedding to witness our love, and to share in that most radiant of all feelings.