What a year 2014 was! In what felt like déjà vu from the year prior, I was back in Chicago to close out my season, this time for Abbie's cousin Michelle's wedding.

From the day we were introduced to Brian—which included an afternoon watching The Book of Mormon and later ice skating in the shadow of 'the Bean'—we knew he and Michelle were in the kind of place where love thrives. Needless to say, when we heard the news that they were engaged, we couldn't have been happier. 

And her smile, as everyone in the family witnessed throughout the day, couldn't have been bigger.

Congratulations, Michelle and Brian!

It was the turn of the millennium. We were both 7th grade transfers and knew no one. We shared homeroom and were in band. There was only a handful of other Filipinos, and our moms go way back. So it only made sense that we became the best of friends. 

Three years later in high school.

If you're one of the many who get to call Celesti a friend, you know exactly just how talentend, smart, and giving she is. And even though we've been separated by no less than three timezones over the last few years, whenever we are reunited it's always reassuring to know much hasn't changed. And that deep down, she's still her awkward, cheesy, dorky self. So when she told me about Jason and then when they got engaged, it only made sense that I try to capture those same qualities. 

Clearly, she's blossomed into anything but. 

Congratulations, Bff and Jason!