Carisa and Minh's mutual friend Kristy encouraged the two to meet, thinking they would get along well. Finally, at Kristy's birthday party on October 10th 2021 at the Heavy Anchor, the meet-cute happened!

"I've been hearing so much about you! I heard you make a great curry udon!" exclaimed Minh. Carisa, on the other hand, thought Minh was so handsome that she got nervous and decided to ignore him the entire night...

After meeting Minh again at Kristy and Gilles' wedding and chatting extensively, she got the courage to add him to social media. The two started exchanging memes about frogs, which evolved into chatting about their lives, and eventually agreeing to meet at the Tower Grove Farmer's Market every Saturday to hang out.

After several long talks about were their relationship was headed (many of them at Clementine's Creamery), Carisa and Minh shared their first kiss on July 16th, 2022.


A week later, on July 23rd 2022, they went on their first "real" date at Sultan Mediterranean Restaurant in The Grove.

Minh and Carisa took their first vacation together to Los Angeles, California, in March 2023. They visited Universal Studios, The Broad Museum, and ate their way through Little Tokyo. Their first international vacation was November 2023 to Osaka, Japan. While Minh had been to Japan several times before, he had never been to the Kansai Region where Carisa had previously lived. She was elated to give him a tour of her favorite places in Osaka and Kobe. Many more adventures to come!

In January 2024, Carisa and Minh went on a journey to Springfield, Missouri, to adopt a bonded pair of kittens: Myla and Maple! Together with their big sister Frances, the Crittendon-Huynh household grew to 5. The kittens are over a year old now and still as playful as ever!

Minh and Carisa had spoken of marriage in general terms in the past, but nothing was ever set in stone. On their anniversary on July 23rd 2024, Minh came home from work apologizing that his favorite flower shop was closed and he could not get her a bouquet. Instead, he got down on one knee with what looked like a lighter. A moment later, a slightly confused Carisa realized it was not a lighter, but a ring box. Of course, the answer was, "yes!

On the box, "You are my universe," was inscribed. This was the inspiration for a celestial themed wedding.