Our story—

When they met, Abigail and Julian were still just kids.

Julian Hartnett grew up riding bikes with his friends in West Palm Beach, Florida. He was a bright kid—homeschooled, loved to camp, and rose to lieutenant in Civil Air Patrol. When he got the opportunity to take an internship at a small company in Texas, he didn’t hesitate. He moved to San Antonio at the ripe old age of 17, finding his passion for design in the process.

Abigail Endsley spent her childhood in Houston, Texas. A creative by nature, she enjoyed singing, dancing, drawing, painting—but what she just couldn’t get enough of was stories. She dreamed of making a living as a writer, and she found that opportunity at the same company Julian had just joined 2 years earlier. She, too, packed her bags for San Antonio and her next adventure.

That’s where it all began.

From co-workers to friends. From friends to lovers.

Julian and I were part of the same marketing team—a writer and designer working closely on just about everything from building websites to printing brochures to developing our next campaign. We constantly bickered over the maximum word count for a webpage and how to watch the The Lord of the Rings movies. (I eventually gave into Julian’s strict word count limits, but still insist the Extended Edition is the only way to go.)

They say iron sharpens iron, and our relationship is a testament to how true that is.

Our friendship really took root when we began to see our differences as complimentary strengths. Each argument became a challenge to do better, reach higher, work harder. Since neither of us can back down from a challenge, I guess you could say the first thing we bonded over was shared stubbornness.

Julian was the first to realize there was more to the relationship. I swore up and down for six years—yes, six—that it would never work. As usual, he was right. We finally went on their first date in January of 2020.

I bet you can guess what happened next.

Two months later the world shut down, tossing us right into the deep end. Isolation from most of our friends and family, a new romance, a move back to San Antonio (for me), and job changes (for both) made 2020 a lot to handle. But as I said, we don’t back down from challenges.

That first year shaped who we are as a couple. We learned how to listen and how to fight, how to love and trust, and how to keep laughing even when life is hard. We have forged an unbreakable bond. Julian is the first person I call when I need wisdom or advice. I’m the one he turns to for encouragement and companionship. We still work and play together. We travel and try new restaurants. We complete Spartans and spend an awful lot of time catching me up on every good TV show I’ve missed in the last decade.

We’ve become each other’s family, and now we’re making it official.

The proposal.

Everyone asks me, “Was it a surprise?”

Yes and no.

I had been waiting for Julian to propose for months. Maybe Christmas? Nope. Our anniversary? Nothing. Valentines day? Another miss. Central Park? The Top of the Rock? The freaking Empire State Building? Zilch, nothing, nada.

Instead, Julian chose to propose when I least expected it: his own birthday.

We were visiting friends in Chicago to celebrate. The tulips we in full bloom, and the weather was gorgeous. When our friends suggested getting dressed up for pictures in the city, I readily agreed. (Seriously, who’s going to turn down a free photo shoot?)

When we reached the Lincoln Park Conservatory, our friend with the camera pointed to a spot across the pond.

“You two should stand over there, in front of that overhang.”

I looked around. “What if we stood over here inste—”

“No, go over there.”

Can’t argue with a photographer and his vision. The overhang, it was.

As we took the long walk around the pond, Julian held my hand and we chatted about our plans for the upcoming year and the adventures still ahead of us. Then he smiled at me and said, “I think we’re ready.”

We stepped onto the rock overhang. He dipped to one knee and asked me to join him on the adventure of a lifetime.

I said yes.

Will you be my adventure buddy?

Fun facts about Abigail

Likes

audiobooks, musicals, cleaning, running, baking, listening to the same song over and over

Dislikes

driving, bleu cheese, when people omit the Oxford comma

Favorite dessert

cookie (…dough)

Cocktail of choice

Whiskey Sour

Fun facts about Julian

Likes

minimalist design, good TV, Rocket League, sci-fi novels, hiking, cooking, making sourdough

Dislikes

picking favorites, green beans, when Abigail listens to the same song over and over

Favorite dessert

ice cream

Cocktail of choice

Old Fashioned