San Francisco brought us together. Back in 1995, long before our lives intersected, we had each paid our first visit to the city by the bay. Not surprisingly, both of us immediately fell in love with San Francisco's charm and character—the Victorian houses perched on rollercoaster hills, the sunshine bathing the Pacific Ocean in its warm glow, and the Golden Gate spanning the bay like a sculpture built by giants. That year, each of us independently resolved to find a way to move to the San Francisco Bay Area.

It took five years, but in the spring and summer of 2000, we each followed our dreams to San Francisco. Jen was recruited as a social worker, and Lars came to work for an Internet start-up company. The stage was set for our paths to cross—but the Bay Area is a big place, and it would take yet another three years for us to find each other.

We finally met in San Francisco's colorful North Beach neighborhood on the last Friday in January of 2003. We were both out with friends on historic Green Street, at a cocktail lounge named Amante. (The word amante means lover—but we didn't know it at the time, as neither one of us speaks much Italian!) Nonetheless, we both quickly fell under the spell of amore, and we spent that first evening talking and flirting. The next day, we went out on our first date.

Many dates later, we fell in love and began to make plans to share our lives with each other. On February 14, 2004—by chance, on Valentine's Day—we moved into our new apartment in San Francisco's Noe Valley.

And so it happened that Lars proposed to Jen during a weekend excursion to the Point Reyes National Seashore. It was June 18, 2005, and we were on a day hike to a remote part of the protected peninsula north of the famous Point Reyes lighthouse. We had just finished a lovely wine-and-cheese picnic on a hill overlooking the ocean when Lars presented the engagement ring and asked The Question ... and Jen said "Yes!"

Thus the planning for the wedding began. We decided on a destination wedding to give our families an opportunity to spend more time together. As our families and friends would be flying from various points in the United States as well as from Scandinavia, we chose Bermuda due to its central location for everyone. The fact that Bermuda is also warm, sunny, and beautiful made it the perfect choice. We can't wait to see you there!