A ‘Risky Text’ Helped Jump-Start Their Relationship

The first five years of their relationship were mostly spent long distance. He went away for college at Northwestern University, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. She graduated from high school a year after he did and went to Yale, where she received a bachelor’s in computer science.

They moved in together in Boston in September 2019, and then they relocated to Providence, R.I., in January 2023.

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In December 2021, Mr. Levin proposed with a scrapbook that Ms. Rodriguez had gifted him on their first anniversary. The book contained only photos and mementos from their first year together; half of it was left empty, and it ended with a page that said “to be continued.” Then, for their third anniversary, Ms. Rodriguez filled the second half with photos of all the places they’d traveled to together, and ended it with a question: “Where will we go next?”

For the proposal, Mr. Levin taped a ring at the end of the book, answering Ms. Rodriguez’s question from years before: “Anywhere is fine with me, as long as I’m with you.” He presented it to her a few days after Christmas during their yearly holiday gift exchange. She recalled paging through it and reliving their memories: “We were walking through our relationship from Year 1, and I had no idea what was going on.” That is, until she reached the page with the ring and began tearing up.

On June 10, the couple wed at Rule of Thirds, a Japanese restaurant in Brooklyn, in front of 126 guests. Jake Levin, who was ordained by the Universal Life Church for the occasion and is Mr. Levin’s cousin, officiated.

Friends from different stages of the couple’s lives, as well as family, including members from Ms. Rodriguez’s side who had traveled from the Dominican Republic, all shared short vignettes about the duo’s relationship.

“We were high schoolers — everything was messy, including us,” Mr. Levin said during his vows. “But somehow, after a couple years of us figuring it out, we found a way. And in the past nine years, we’ve built something amazing.”