"It still amazes us how long it took us to meet, given that we have discovered literally dozens of friends we have shared in common over the years. I guess that no one else recognized that we were the perfect match... We first saw each other on a Friday evening in October of 1999." Dave was at a local bar in San Francisco called "The Lone Star Saloon". Daniel came in and stood at the back of the outdoor patio. Dave noticed him right away and his friends gave him a lot of urging to go over and introduce himself. Dave never did go over and Daniel left the bar quickly, giving Dave only a passing nod on the way out. Two days later marked both the 10th anniversary of the Lone Star Saloon as well as the 10th anniversary of the big Loma Pierta earthquake that rocked San Francisco during the 1989 World Series. The bar threw a big party and as luck would have it, both Dave and Daniel were there. Dave got his first big break when Daniel walked over to speak with Derek. Dave had known Derek for years, so it was no problem to join that group and seek an introduction. The rest is, as they say, History. Daniel recognized immediately that this was something special and he'd never let go."

"Buying a house together in San Francisco really cemented it for us. Well, maybe that and the cats. We weren't expecting to jump in and make that kind of commitment so soon, but when the opportunity arose, it seemed so natural. We both looked at each other, took a deep breath and told our agent to go for it. We never looked back. In some ways, that almost seemed like saying "I Do" right there. The entire process of buying a home together is a huge lesson in trust. We really did trust each other that this would work out, both in terms of the investment and in the relationship. A week after moving in it was time to adopt, so the cats, Benny & George, joined our family. It all seemed so domestic and so complete." Their engagement was announced on December 25, 2000.

"Our engagement was never so formal as to have been officially "announced". Daniel asked Dave to become his husband on May 28th at the House of Blues in Chicago. We started getting serious about  planning a real wedding in the fall of 2000 and told our families around the holidays. We visited Daniel's family in at the end of November with the news. We spent Christmas with Dave's family and told them at that time. We did not do an engagement rings, but rather incorporated a few diamonds into our wedding bands."