Audrey Emilie Marie Gillant
Audrey is a native of Sevran, France, a suburb of Paris, born 11 February 1980. Until this past year, she lived with her family consisting of her parents Jean-Pierre and Muriel, her twin brother Yannick (22), and her little sister Maud (12). At home she has two pets, a dog named Fury and a cat named Prune. From 1998-2001 she attended l'Université de Paris VII at Jussieu. Currently she lives with Chris in Seattle, studying for her Master's in Mathematics at the University of Washington.
Christopher Ryan Hartman Hanusa
Chris is a native of Pittsburgh, PA, born 14 December 1979. Until 1997, he lived with his family consisting of his parents Lotar and Barbara, and his two little brothers Evan (17) and Max (13). At home there are three cats named Buffy, Callie, and Reggie. From 1997-2001 he attended Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, CA, near Los Angeles. Currently he lives with Audrey in Seattle, studying for her Master's in Mathematics at the University of Washington.
How did they meet?
In Fall 1999, Chris took a break from Harvey Mudd College and went to Paris to study French culture. He enrolled in the Sorbonne and to be able to take a math class, he enrolled in Jussieu, Université de Paris VII. It was in this Algebra class where they met. One day he asked Audrey to work together on homework, and that day they decided to walk in the park together the following week. At the end of January 2ooo, Chris and Audrey embarked on a one and a half year long distance relationship. Starting in September 2oo1, they have lived together in Seattle while both studying math at the University of Washington.
The Wedding
20.8.02 The Date
It's a palindrome; do we need another reason? We decided on the date after much deliberation. First, we needed it to be after school ended in June. Secondly, we needed to marry before August 28th, when we move into our new apartment. Then considering our summer plans this year, we narrowed it down to after coming home from France at the end of July. So then we looked at the days and decided which day was the nicest number. And after we knew that Audrey's family was coming to Pittsburgh, it had to be in the range August 18-26. So since Chris proposed on 02/20/02 at 20:02pm, we figured that we should get married six months afterwards. So that's the story behind the date.
Why? The Reason
Neither of us see the point of marriage, really. If anything, we would prefer to be in a civil union, but the US government doesn't recognize that for some reason. However, Uncle Sam does recognize marriages. For us to stay together after Audrey finishes her Master's degree in June 2003, we decided to get married to be able to apply for a spousal visa and permanent residency in the United States. We don't know what we plan to do after school, but we love each other and enjoy each other's company and don't want to fight the two governments, so we're getting married.
