On New Year’s Eve 2016, Kylie unexpectedly found herself in Philadelphia.

Shortly before New Year’s Eve, Kylie was at home in Ohio. She was in her third year of law school in Atlanta and it was winter break. While at home, Kylie received a phone call from a prospective employer in NYC. They asked if she could come in for an interview in a few days. Kylie said yes and immediately began making plans to get to the East Coast.

Naturally, Kylie reached out to best friend and maid of honor, Caitlin. Caitlin was living in Philadelphia at the time and Kylie asked if she could stay with her. Kylie planned on taking the train to NYC for the interview, then spending New Year’s Eve with her best friend.

The New Year’s Eve plan was simple: Caitlin’s friend, Alek, and his roommates were throwing a party at their house in Old City. In typical Kylie fashion, she had no interest in attending the party and heavily considered bailing. Suddenly, Caitlin had a revelation – Alek and Kylie actually made a lot of sense together. Caitlin had known them both for more than a decade and she couldn’t believe that she hadn’t thought of pairing them up sooner.

Kylie followed her matchmaker to Old City where she met Alek for the first time. Kylie was quickly enamored with Alek, but she wasn’t sure if the feeling was mutual. Then, Kylie overheard Alek asking Caitlin about her. Alek had seen Kylie on Caitlin’s Instagram a few weeks earlier and nearly messaged Caitlin to ask about her friend. For the remainder of the night, Alek and Kylie were inseparable. At midnight, they were each other’s New Year’s kiss.

The next day, Kylie flew back to Atlanta. She told anyone that would listen that she had met the man that she was going to marry. And she was right.

Several years and several cities later, Alek and Kylie are happily settled in Philadelphia where they live with their two rescue cats, Figaro and Galileo.