Tony and I met officially Memorial Day Weekend 2012. Friends of ours had convinced us to rent a house in Rehoboth, Delaware for the weekend. Neither of us was looking for a relationship, Tony had just gotten out of a not great one, and I had the relationship mind-set of: "if it happens, it happens".  We ended up hanging out all weekend together and hit it off as friends, and continuing the friendship post weekend for our return to Philadelphia. 

A few weeks later Tony had pulled our close friend Laura (she introduced us) aside during her birthday celebration at Frankford Hall and admitted he had a crush on me. I was very interested in Tony as well - had been since we met - but I'm a firm believer in getting to know people. We started dating shortly after that and soon became exclusive.

They have helped us discover who we are and they are now symbolic of what we are trying to build together as a couple.

We both grew up playing with Legos. Tony likes to build and fix things - as a Physical Therapist he is constantly working with people, helping put them back together. I am working to become an architect and Legos literally were my starting point for creativity in form, shape, and structure. They are literally plastic bricks - a toy version of Philadelphia's architectural staple building material. 

I choose BrickLove because Legos have been an important part of our lives for a very long time. They have helped us discover who we are and they are now symbolic of what we are trying to build together as a couple. It was also super convenient that we each have four letter names that could be inscribed into the pieces. They can be masculine and a bit nerdy as individual pieces, but also physically and symbolically beautiful when they attach to become a heart. We literally carry around a piece of our heart. 

We literally carry around a piece of our heart. 

I also chose BrickLove because we are non-traditional. We are a gay couple and neither of us wear jewelry. Wedding rings are one thing, but we are not married yet, so I knew when I popped the question I wanted a token that meant something special to both of us. Behold: BrickLove. I went for key-rings as our engagement rings. It's a play on words and also something we would carry around regardless. I now wear mine around my neck, but Tony still has his on this keys. They were the perfect choice for us.