THE SHORT VERSION
Juli and Felix met in 2015 at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign at a beloved college bar, The Red Lion. They started dating shortly after, doing long-distance for two years (Champaign, IL ➡️ Atlanta, GA) before moving to New York City in 2018. Deciding to make the move back to Chicago in 2023, Juli and Felix spent their last weekend in New York getting engaged and celebrating with their friends there (only to continue their celebration with their friends in Chicago!).
THE MUCH LONGER, BUT ARGUABLY MORE ENTERTAINING, VERSION
In the Summer of 2015, Juli and Felix met for the first time in the finest of establishments in Champaign, IL: The Red Lion. Both in town for Greek Reunion, they found themselves chatting in the beer garden. Felix mentioned he’s from Germany 🇩🇪💁🏼♂️, Juli mentioned she's from Brazil 🇧🇷💁🏻♀️, and the 7-1 loss was brought up (as Felix never misses an opportunity to bring it up). After a nice conversation and a late-night stop at McDonalds, they went their separate ways.
Later in the Fall, Felix and his bff/business partner, Raim, were looking for an extreamly talented designer to help them with their start-up (may it forever rest in peace 🪦) and a mutual friend suggested Juli. Business meetings stretched across campus, from the Undergraduate Library to The Red Lion. Juli and Felix went from chatting about business to falling in love 🥰🥰🥰.
A few weeks into dating, Felix invited Juli to join him on a post-graduation road trip 🔪😈 as he moved his things to Fort Myers. Against all true crime podcast advice, Juli agreed. Felix planned a lovely trip with a stop in NOLA (which Juli had always wanted to visit), a day at Harry Potter World, and a relaxing week in Estero, Florida. And Juli survived to tell the tale!
Felix moved to Atlanta while Juli studied abroad in London and finished up 2 more years in Champaign. In 2018, they both moved to New York City 🍎🗽. They built their life together over the next 6 years and even made it through the pandemic, coexisting in their 600 sqft apartment.
Summer of 2023 came around and so did an opportunity in Chicago. After a move/drive halfway across the country, Juli and Felix flew back to NYC for a one last celebratory, goodbye weekend — where Felix surprised Juli with a proposal 😱💍💕!!! She of course said yes and they celebrated with their friends as a final farewell.
A year and a half later, it's time to plan a wedding and do the thing!! To be continued... ✨
The above was written by Juli and hesitantly approved by Felix.