Almost four years ago, fate and a few mouse clicks brought Russ Maschmeyer and Jessica Hische together. They went from complete strangers to inseparable companions in work and love. This is how it all began.

She worked for Louise Fili from 9-6 and spent 7-2am at her studio. It was an intense but rewarding work schedule. She was beginning to make a name for herself.

They barely had time to eat (let alone date) with their crazy schedules. They both wanted to meet someone special, but couldn’t figure out how to make it happen.

After a few messages, he invited her to see his band perform. Sparks flew, but fate was against them—he left the next morning for a month-long tour.

He sent postcards from the road. She gossiped with her friends about ‘Band Dude’. It was exciting and new, but they also knew it was something special.

He felt a bit rusty, but wanted the first real date to impress. After a month of anticipation, it had to be bold. He decided on a reverse date: drinks followed by a dessert bar followed by dinner.

Many dates (and marathon viewings of Battlestar Galactica) followed, but not a single date took them back to that little French restaurant.

She encouraged him to apply to grad school. He encouraged her to captain her own ship. Uncharted waters lay ahead for them both.

With their future in question, his band called it quits. Though it was hard, he was now free to focus on his studies. At the same time, her Daily Drop Cap project was lighting up the interwebs.

With the end of the semester, the end of the band, and tired of bike rides home at 2am, She convinced him to pack up his bachelor pad and move in.

He was offered a summer internship across the country, and they knew it was an offer he couldn’t refuse. But during that long, lonely summer he had an epiphany.

He looked high and low for an engagement ring, and finally found exactly what he was looking for.

In a few months he had saved enough for the ring. He and a couple grad-school chums began piecing together grand plans for the proposal.

His flimsy excuse got her from Brooklyn into Manhattan and an even flimsier one convinced her to follow him north.

Confused by his honest reaction to her joke, it took her a second to realize that he wasn’t joking. She shouted “Yes!” and nearly knocked him off his feet.

When they walked through the door, she was stunned to find a few more surprises waiting inside. He had invited 15 of their friends to join in the celebration!