How We Met | #aplusabigday
Ashley + Andy Post Wedding Shoot in Los Cabos, Mexico in Nala dress by One Day Bridal
As much as I've shared my personal life on the interwebs it occurred to me that I've never shared how Andy and I met. Since we'll be inviting you into our wedding weekend over the next few weeks (starting tomorrow!) it only makes sense to share how it all started. Ironically, our wedding officiant actually asked us this same question (separately) via a pre-wedding questionnaire, so I have each of our answers word for word. Crazy or not so crazy... our answers are pretty much 100% the same including how we ended our stories! Keep scrolling to see our versions of "how we met" and some high and low points that have really shaped our relationship. (Also don't forget to check out our relationship Q +A on IG TV: Part 1 + Part 2)
HOW WE MET - Andy's Version
The first job I got in LA was working as a Digital Product Manager at an e-commerce company in Downtown LA called Hautelook (owned by Nordstrom). I remember there was a super pretty girl in the marketing department who sat near me and I was determined to get to know her. She was controlling the office music that played out loud and I messaged her something stupid like “I like your tunes” via our internal chat tool. After some digital banter I invited her to meet me and some friends out at a bar in West Hollywood and the rest is history.
HOW WE MET - Ashley's Version
Andy came in for an interview at HauteLook and the second he came through the elevator doors EVERY girl on the floor was gawking at him. Mind you, we were on the tech/marketing floor where it was all super tech nerds or girls. This was the first hot guy that had ever walked the 2nd floor of HauteLook. During his interview, which was in an all glass conference room, Gchats were ramping up about this attractive guy and what role he was interviewing for. Based on his demeanor during the interview - literally feet up on the conference table talking to our CMO - you could tell he thought he was REALLy cool but also was probably going to get the job because… Who does that?? He got the job and on his start day all gals called dibs on who was going to date Andy first. It was me, no less than 2 months later. I won!
Our first real interaction was one day during his first week - I was controlling the music on our office Sonos and he had a thing or two to say about it. He Gchatted me telling me he thought the song I chose was great in super flirty way. Our Gchat relationship blossomed into a “what are you up to for lunch?” relationship, lots of afternoon walks, then an invite to Churchill in Weho because some of his friends were in town… and the rest is history!
It's funny how we both wrote "the rest is history" because yes, it's technically history but we were together for 5 years before we got engaged; there were definitely a lot of highs and lows.
Some of my favorite memories were early AM beach drives along the PCH. Andy had just moved to LA from NY and couldn't get over how the the mountains hit the sea when you drive up to Malibu. We would listen to The Other Side, Houdini, DNA and some random Justin Bieber Acoustic songs on repeat. I put them in an "I LOVE AF" Spotify Playlist back in 2013 and am currently listening to that playlist as I write this; man, music really evokes so many feelings and nostalgia! The beach holds a special place in our heart and is truly our happy place.
Post Wedding Shoot - Andy + Ashley Los Cabos, Mexico with Ryan + Gina Photography
Looking back, one of the best decisions that "saved" our relationship was when I left HauteLook to go work elsewhere. Working with your S.O. is hard and I give serious props to all those couples that do it. We worked together and dated for a little over a year and in the beginning it was roses, butterflies, and lust filled. Towards the end of that year it became really hard to do morning coffee walks, lunches, afternoon snack breaks and then want to dedicate time in the evenings to be with each other. Did I mention our desks were diagonally across from each other? It was a lot, no matter how hard you're crushing on someone. Once I left HauteLook we both agreed that distance/space made the heart grow fonder.
Everyday Pursuits Andy + Ashley: couples kitchen photoshoot
A challenge that we battled for the first, I'm going to say, 3 years was that Andy was a relationship newbie and I had just come off an 8 yr. relationship. For anyone who has been in this situation you understand how hard the dynamic can be. Andy went to NYU and lived the NY dating scene for 7 years prior to moving to LA which if any of you guys know NY dating it's a lot of zero-commitment situations. I felt like I was training a puppy. My friends and I joked that I had to teach Andy the ropes of being in a relationship. There were plenty of times when I wanted to quit because teaching someone who has been selfish and running solo for most of his adult life how to be a considerate partner is a struggle... but, I told him (way later in our relationship) that I knew I wanted to marry him pretty early in and therefore I was determined to make it work.
And here we are: married! It seems like just the other day we were laying on the beach at 7:30am awkwardly navigating the early parts of dating. In 6 years years we have become the best of friends and loyal partners (hah - maybe I did a great job training my puppy?). But honestly, it's crazy how time flies when you're creating memories with the one you love!
We can't wait to invite you into our wedding over the next few weeks. It was truly a weekend to remember and an experience we'll never forget! Stay tuned. xo - Ash
P.S: Don't forget to watch our IG TV Relationship Q+A. Andy was WORKING it! Part 1 + Part 2 are here!
From the Archives
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