Luke + Emma

Our story started on Friday, October 8th, 2021. We were both living in Wicker Park, Chicago and met because Emma's friend buddied up with my roommates and me to skip the line at Lottie's. Once we made it inside the bar, my friends and I thought we would never see that girl again, but later in the night, she came up to our table accompanied by a beautiful red haired girl named Emma. I introduced myself to Emma, and we realized that we lived only a couple of blocks from each other. As the night was winding down and we began to say our goodbyes, I said that I would see her later and Emma asked how I would see her later and if I wanted her number, of course, I said yes! Little did I know that meeting that red haired girl that night would change my life forever.

A little less than a month after meeting at Lottie's, we went on our first date to a sushi restaurant in the neighborhood. In the new year, we went on dates, cooked together at each other's apartments, and started meeting each other's friends. I started to fall in love with Emma during this time, even though my dog, Banks, might've won her heart before I did. After a couple of months of making a lot of great memories together, in April I asked her to be my girlfriend. That summer, I helped Emma move to an apartment in Gold Coast with her friend Anna, and I moved into a new apartment in Lakeview with my friends. During that year, we made a lot of great memories: going to concerts, going on a cruise with winnings from a parlay on the opening night of NFL football, and getting to know each other's families. I think we were both drawn to how close we are to our families and how important they are in our lives. After a year of commuting across the city to spend time with each other, we decided to move in together and found an apartment right down the street from Wrigley Field.

We lived in our apartment on Addison Street for two years before moving a little bit farther north in the neighborhood. Being just over a block away from Wrigley Field, Emma has turned into a huge Cubs fan, and we have made so many great memories over the past couple of years watching the Cubs and living in the neighborhood. Since living together, we love taking Banks down to the lake and around Wrigley (especially Banks' favorite place, Gallagher Way), hosting parties at our apartments, and spending time with friends and family. We have loved our time in Wrigleyville together so far and hopefully can be here for another Cub’s World Series win.

Fittingly, last October, I asked Emma to marry me outside Wrigley Field. We had a great night celebrating with friends and family in our favorite place! We are excited about what the future holds for us as the Annens and are so happy to have such wonderful people with us for the ride.