Mia Besl

Rebekah and Devon Lewis met in eighth grade, grew close in high school, and by senior year were inseparable. Even when they went to different colleges, they stayed in constant contact, always finding their way back to each other during breaks. “We’d somehow still end up in the kind of laughter that gives you an ab workout or the kind of philosophical debates you wouldn’t want a stranger overhearing,” Rebekah shares. Over time, their friendship naturally became something more.

Kate and Jackson Durham’s love story began at UC Berkeley, where a friendship built over Econ study sessions slowly turned into something more. “I shared my coveted handwritten notes with very few people—but Jackson was one of the lucky ones,” Kate laughs. Five years into dating, Jackson proposed in June 2023 in a place that already held deep meaning for them, Lake Tahoe. What Kate thought was a casual family trip quickly turned into something more. “I was completely oblivious,” she says.

Nine years after first connecting via an app, Ashish led his girlfriend, Rekha, down a hidden path in Washington to a gazebo, filled with photos from their travels. “As I took it all in, our closest family and friends stepped out to surround us,” she recalls. “Ashish dropped to one knee, promising to stand by me for a lifetime of adventure and fun.” When it came to planning, the couple looked everywhere from Bali to Carmel-by-the-Sea before choosing Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island.