This all started in early 2016 when my friend Jeremiah invited me to Trang's wedding. I initially declined because I'm not close to Trang and didn't think much else of it. However, Jeremiah was persistent and continued to invite me every chance he got. Eventually, I gave in.

On the wedding day I was excited to see my friends and looked forward to wedding. We arrived at the ceremony and took seats in the first few rows. I had no idea that the Maid of Honor sitting just a few rows in front of me would be my future wife, Tien. I watched as she spoke at the podium, as she kept watch over the flower girl, and as she helped the bride with the ceremony. She was beautiful and I kept finding myself gazing in her direction.

It wasn't until the reception when we officially met. Tien walked over and introduced herself to me and my group of friends. It caught me by surprise how assertive she was because I would never walk towards a group a strangers and introduce myself. But Tien came, left her impression on me, and walked away. For the rest of the cocktail hour, I would catch glimpses as she walked by and think to myself "There goes that pretty girl again. She was way out of my league."

Fortunately for me, we sat at the same table for the reception. We did some small talk and had a few memorable moments, but for the most part she was busy with her Maid of Honor duties so we did not spend much time together. All I could do was watch and daydream. I daydreamed about hitting it off with Tien, sparks flying, laughs and good times. I thought, "Wouldn't it be amazing if she was actually interested in me and we had something special here." But I knew it was a dream. At the end of the night, I left the wedding and figured that was the end of it. I would never see her again. But at least I had a few memories to remember her by.

A few days later I received a Facebook friend request from Tien. I was stunned! I immediately searched for mutual friends to check if she friended everyone at the reception table or if I was special. There were no mutual friends. My confidence rose dramatically. I was the only person at the table that she friended. Maybe Tien actually liked me after all. This was the boost of confidence that I needed to send her a message.

I found out later that I was wrong. She friended everyone at the table and I was not special. But it didn't matter because we already started talking to each other. We talked a lot. It started with Facebook messenger and eventually phone calls. We talked throughout work, we talked late into the night, we talked all the time. And I fell in love.

I love so much about Tien. She is so different from me and it's amazing. She's outgoing, friendly, cares a lot, and does so much for people. She has a huge network of friends who would go out of their way to help her. She shows me a social world that I'm unfamiliar with and have only daydreamed about. I feel like Tien can show me so much about social interactions, how to behave, what to do, and how to connect with people. I love that she offers me a way to grow as a person.

Despite the differences, there are many similarities that bring us closer. We're not picky and can enjoy the simple things together: a nice meal, lazy weekends, lounging on the sofa, and binge watching TV. I love that we relax the same way because it's these simple, low-key, everyday activities where I find the most happiness.