Paul and I met through a mutual friend in 2002, but we didn't see each other again until 2004. Our first date? IKEA. And actually, I invited myself along because Paul acted "too busy" to go on an "actual" date. He says he had a plan all along and I say I made the first moves.

Anyway.

IKEA apparently let the sparks fly since we were engaged in April of 2005 at Yosemite National Park. (I'd say that's a little more romantic than IKEA...) After we came home, I had noticed something on my toe - thinking it was a blister from our hikes, I let it be. It then became an issue when it wasn't going away, so I saw a doctor and was told I had nodular melanoma in an unlikely place. The debacle lasted throughout 2005, and we had 2006 to plan for our wedding. We married in November 2007 and are enjoying a long, healthy life together.

As for our PaperPlay? In our search for invitations, we realized that most fell into two categories - mass produced and expensively unimpressive. Since we didn't think we fit into either category, we brainstormed for something revolutionary and truly unique.

I'm a graphic designer, while Paul is a computer programmer, which makes him very good at...well, thinking. (He did all of the engineering.) We worked fairly well together and actually got our invitations out on time(!). After the reaction we received from our own guests, we decided to offer such an idea to everyone, and so began this venture.

PaperPlay is now used for announcements and other events as well. Creativity has no limits and we're profoundly glad to be a part of someone's special event.

We would like to thank our family and friends who have supported us through our trials and tribulations. Several of them are our backbone in this project so we wouldn't want to miss on giving out props, yo.