Once upon a time, on a sunny August afternoon at Arrowhead Camp, a 14-year-old boy named Daniel met a 14-year-old girl named Eva. Daniel thought this girl, Eva, was quite pretty. So pretty, in fact, that he asked her out to the camp dance! Eva enthusiastically said yes. Daniel didn’t know it at the time, but Eva thought he was quite handsome, so she was absolutely thrilled that he asked her. On their last night at camp, Daniel and Eva shared their first dance. At the end of the evening, they even held hands (Eva’s hands were incredibly sweaty, but Daniel, being a gentleman, didn’t say a thing).
Before he left camp the next day, Daniel asked Eva if she wanted to go out on a “real date” to the movies when they were back in Toronto. Eva happily agreed. As per Eva’s request, they went to see a scary movie! Being brave throughout the movie paid off for Daniel as he shared a kiss with Eva (their first kiss) at the end of the night when he dropped her off at Jane station!
Unfortunately, they did not go on many dates afterward (this was not Daniel’s choice 😜).
They did, however, see each other every summer, year after year, at Arrowhead Camp. Over time, they became good friends. They became closer during their time at Queen’s University and became closest after spending an entire summer working together as Leader In Training (LIT) Director’s at Arrowhead Camp.
Late one August evening, after writing dozens of LIT evaluations, 19-year-old Daniel worked up the courage to tell 19-year-old Eva how he felt about her. Daniel confessed his feelings, but Eva mistook this confession of love as a “nice friend moment”. This could have been Daniel’s fault as he did not explicitly say “I love you”, but instead told Eva all of the wonderful things he thought of her. Eva should have read between the lines, but alas, she did not.
After a series of teen drama moments to conclude the summer, Daniel and Eva finally told each other how they truly felt about one another. They shared their second first kiss and started dating shortly thereafter!
In September 2023, Daniel and Eva moved in together. This next chapter of their story allowed them to learn some new things about each other. Notably, Eva learned what a truly exceptional chef she had as a partner, and Daniel learned how particular Eva could be when organizing their home.
In 2024, Daniel kept a huge secret from Eva. Daniel spent several months planning the perfect proposal – he had a beautiful ring made and shared his plan to propose to Eva with both of their families. At the beginning of August, Daniel travelled across the world with a special ring on a chain around his neck (much like Frodo). He travelled 7,966 km to meet his best friend in her hometown. On August 5, 2024, Daniel proposed to Eva on a beautiful hilltop overlooking the Black Sea in Varna, Bulgaria. Daniel and Eva got engaged and the rest is history!
Almost 10 years after they started dating and 15 years after their first kiss, 29-year-old Daniel and 29-year-old Eva are getting married! They are looking forward to spending every day of the rest of their lives together. ❤︎
