Our Story 

A love that arrived exactly on time, even when neither of us expected it.

​

We met the modern way (on Hinge) with a single virtual rose and a conversation sparked by Ray’s tattoos: a tiger, his spirit, and a Celtic emblem for truth, love, respect, and integrity. I (Tori) laughed that my spirit animal is a peacock, and just like that, Tiger & Peacock became our first inside joke, the earliest thread in a story that would soon surprise us both.

​

Our first date happened on a day marked by loss for me, one of those days when life rearranges the ground beneath your feet. I showed up anyway, heart cracked open, choosing honesty because I didn’t have the energy for anything else. And there Ray was: calm, bright, steady. A presence that didn’t demand anything, just offered warmth. In the quiet glow of his clarity, something in me softened.

​

But new love, especially after grief, isn’t simple.

​

Ray invited me into his world boldly, wholeheartedly, in ways that felt overwhelming at first. I almost ran. It took a nudge from my older sister to slow down, breathe, and see the rare thing in front of me: a man who wasn’t afraid to know me, choose me, and walk toward connection without hesitation.

When I finally told Ray, “I need you to ease up... it’s too much,” he smiled and said,

“Okay, but I'm going to keep doing it anyway.”

It shocked me. It grounded me. And it was, undeniably, attractive.

​

From then on, every time fear whispered in my ear, Ray met it with a gentle but powerful yes. A willingness. A courage that built, moment by moment, into something undeniably masculine, rooted, and real. He didn’t rush me... he simply held the door open and kept showing up. And slowly, lovingly, he grew my heart into a place where I could stay.

​

Ray was the first to say I love you.
The first to cry.
The first to dream out loud about a life together.
The first to want to build a home.
And the first to put his name on the title next to mine.

My brave, bold, Tiger of a man.

​

And me? I didn’t “do” anything — except be exactly who I’ve always been. A woman who has studied her own heart for decades. Someone who sees others deeply and helps them see themselves with gentleness and truth. Ray arrived carrying old wounds, old doubts, old stories about who he was allowed to be. I didn’t fix him... I simply reminded him of the man he already was. Not a fallen king… but a good one. A wholehearted one. A man capable of love, integrity, joy, and a future that glows.

​

In just two and a half years, we have lived a full lifetime: job losses and promotions, births and deaths, building a home, remodeling it, losing friends, gaining new ones, grieving, healing, laughing, choosing, and choosing again. And now, the biggest yes of all, saying forever under open skies with the people who’ve been riding this whirlwind with us.

This lake (the place I discovered at 14) raised me, held me, shaped me. Sharing it now with Ray, and with all of you, feels like the perfect beginning to our next chapter.

​

Thank you for traveling to the middle of the country, to our meadow of memories, magic, and joy, to celebrate the love story we never saw coming... but are endlessly grateful we found.

​

Welcome to our Tiger & Peacock fairytale. We’re so happy you’re part of it. <3

​

Love Always,

Tori C.