Bride
Riley is easily identified in any crowd by her brilliant red hair, but you may hear her laughing before you spot her. Quick to find the humor in every situation, Riley's wit is almost as fiery as her curls. She presents as polite and reserved at first blush, but once you're a friend, beware of devastating one-liners!
Riley's loves, rightly ordered, are as follows:
- Christ
- Dogs (the bigger, the better)
- Camron
- Ice Cream & Fried Chicken Sandwiches
- Boggle
- Pinterest & Yelp
- Libraries & Thrift Stores
- Live Music in Parks
After calling Washington, DC home for over 4 years, Riley's hooked on walkable cities and free museum access. (She can't seem to hold onto a house for longer than a year, though we're hoping that changes). Given the opportunity, she'd move abroad in a heartbeat and is at her happiest wandering new places without a set itinerary. You can usually find her meeting up with a friend for coffee or following random dogs around the neighborhood. In addition to the dog stalking, Riley's oddities include a vast 60's & 70's folk music repertoire, undying loyalty to the Merriam-Webster dictionary app, and shockingly loud sneezes.
Groom
Camron (pronounced “Cameron”) is the kind of guy who stops to buy lemonade from the kids' neighborhood stand. While he may lean a little too heavily into sugar consumption, he is the perfect amount of sweet! Camron is the “quintessential nice guy”; he will drive you to the airport, help out with a last minute task, and he's great with babies. You may think he peaked in high school—an AZ state tennis champ and valedictorian—but we're convinced the best is yet to come!
Camron is a skilled athlete both on and off the tennis court; he shines in Spikeball, soccer, wake surfing, and rock climbing. Camron doesn't limit himself to the real world, though. Watching him with a video game controller is pretty impressive! (He'll tell you that E-Sports are very serious and that gaming is an excellent way to keep in touch with “the boyz”). He loves connecting with friends, and throughout college he was always the one to initiate game nights and group trips.
Camron's kind spirit is complemented by his artistic side. He minored in graphic design and puts his Adobe Illustrator skills to work in a wide range of passion projects. He especially thrives when he's brainstorming a new app.
P.s. Have you heard of Puzzl??
Our Saga Story
Camron and Riley met in Chicago's O'Hare Airport on the first day of Wheaton College's “pre-orientation.” From there, they were bussed 8 hours to frolic in the Wisconsin Northwoods for a week. That fateful shuttle ride set this story in motion.
Assigned not only to the same residence hall, but to dorm rooms facing each other across a small parking lot, Camron and Riley saw a lot of each other their first semester. They enjoyed great conversations over breakfast and ice cream and both felt grateful for a new friend…but, one of them may have started to feel something a *smidge* more than gratitude.
One rescinded date night and 9 months later, they reconnected through mutual friends and broke the ice by taking a quick Labor Day group trip to Canada! It was an absolute blast, well worth the 25 hours of driving. The rest of junior fall flew by without incident, and they even took a class together. In the spring, Riley moved to France and Camron–very convincingly–moved on.
Come August, Riley was back on campus and Camron was back on the market! Senior fall is notoriously busy, and they both juggled extracurriculars and full schedules, meaning our couple didn't overlap until after Christmas break. Their paths finally crossed when Riley posted on Instagram asking if anyone else flying into Chicago was interested in splitting an Uber. Lo and behold, Camron swiped up.
Following their shared Uber ride, they met for a few platonic coffees (although one happened to fall on Valentine's Day) leading up to Spring Break '20. Then, Riley left for New Orleans and Camron headed back to Tucson.
Enter: COVID-19
Wheaton College emailed students that they had one week to return to campus, pack their belongings, and get out of dodge. Following frenzied travel back to IL, Riley and Camron spent their final night on campus together watching Sonic the Hedgehog & Tommy Boy (shoutout to Levi Schultz) and then said their final goodbyes–or so they thought.
Virtual graduation passed that May with shockingly little fanfare. They both found fully-remote jobs and tried to settle into the off-kilter workforce.
Over a year later, the next November they found themselves on yet another group trip! This time to Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Camron generously kept Riley company on the 9-hour drive from DC, and they rediscovered how easy it was to be together. Lots of laughs, minor vehicular damage, and hand-feeding exotic animals made the trip one to remember. They stayed in touch afterwards for a few months but eventually drifted back to an annual “happy birthday” text and not much else.
Almost two years went by. They both moved out of their parents' places and found new rhythms. In DC, Riley became a member at her church, moved houses a few times, and traveled as much as possible. Camron designed travel websites for a company in Tucson and filled his free time playing games with friends, joined a soccer league, and enjoyed weekly family dinners in Tucson.
April 30, 2023
"Idk if you'll be available at all or even around. But would you be interested/available for a Canada trip over Labor Day weekend?"
- Cam
The texted invitation came out of the blue for Riley, but she was eager for a chance to reconnect with the gang and spend time at the Vick's lovely Canadian cottage. Plot twist: the only other people able to make the trip were Camron and 2 married couples (looking at you, Whitesides & Smiths). This meant Riley was locked into a $500+, non-refundable couples retreat. Her therapist (and an unhelpful AirCanada customer service representative) persuaded her to move forward with the plan–she was going on vacation!
Camron was the perfect Canadian host and gentleman; he bartended, led games, and even offered a private jet ski tour of the lake. They managed to avoid the DTR until returning to the Toronto airport. After some polite small talk, Camron eventually got down to business and asked, “so…what are you thinking of me these days?” Riley responded she could 'finally envision the two of them working as a couple,' to Camron's utter surprise. They agreed to call after making it back home and talk through what dating long-distance could look like.
Over the next 11 months, they racked up an impressive number of hours on Discord and FaceTime calls. The best moments were spent exploring one another's homes, and they were lucky enough to squeeze in a visit every 1-2 months.
Then Camron took a giant, country-wide leap and moved to DC, where they are now happily living a 10-minute walk from each other in Capitol Hill.