Our story

tommy’s recollection

First of all - thank goodness for Erin. My wonderful sister sent me a text in May 2018 that said:

Hey…Do you want to go on a date with Ana Braskamp? Here’s her number…

- Erin to Tommy: May 2018

I didn’t know an Ana Braskamp, and I was in the process of moving from Seattle back to San Francisco. So I sat on it…until Erin sent me a screenshot a week or so later. It was from Ana and she said:

So did we decide against this?

- Ana to Erin: June 2018

I quickly realized I dropped the ball and did what everyone our age does - some Instagram stalking. Even though I was technically still living in Seattle, when I saw Ana was friends with tons of people I knew (and was very, very pretty), I decided to go for it:

Hey Ana - This is your future boyfriend Tommy, and I’m looking forward to our first date. Where should we go?

- Tommy’s first text to Ana: June 2018

I would find out months later that asking her where to go was a great move. Ana is a planner and I am not.

She named a time and place - Comstock Lounge in North Beach 7/31/18. This was a problem; my flight to move back to San Francisco was on 8/1, but Ana was leaving to hang out with her “best guy friends” in Montana that day. This star studded (mostly single) roster included - Travis Boyce, Ryan Morris, Mikey Goldman, Alex Curtis, Matt Bouret and others. I knew I had to move fast.  I had already said I was her future boyfriend, so I moved the flight up a day and went straight from SFO to meet her at the restaurant.

ana’s recollection

Late night at the Snug, a bar in Pacific Heights San Francisco, Erin asked if she could set me up with her older brother Tommy, who was moving back from Seattle. At first thought, I said, sounds like a bad idea...what if it didn’t work out. She promised she’d stay out of it and I decided sure, why not. 

A few weeks later I was walking past her apartment and realized she never followed up. 

So did we decide against this?

- Ana to Erin: June 2018

I honestly can’t remember what Erin said back but suffice to say I didn’t hear from Tommy for at least a week. Then, on a Monday morning during a client offsite:

Hey Ana - This is your future boyfriend Tommy. When is our first date?

- Tommy’s first text to Ana: June 2018

I let the text sit unanswered all day. Who on earth was Tommy… finally it clicked. Erin’s brother. I remember first thinking, “Bold.” Next, “Alright, I like it. I’m curious.”

After some back and forth, we picked a time and a place for date #1 the following week.

Tommy was almost 30 minutes late. Thankfully, I had gotten a warning from my bestie, now maid of honor, Sarah Bohannon who was stalking Tommy’s location with Erin on Find my Friends. Just as our date was supposed to begin, Tommy was leaving his parent’s house in Hillsborough. 

I ordered a drink and waited patiently in a booth for him to arrive. I noticed the last guest had spilled beer on the seat across from me and asked the waitress if she could help. She hurried off to grab a towel but before she got back, Tommy blew in and soaked his pants. 

He promptly ordered an IPA and I sipped on my glass of red wine as we bantered and began what I’d realize later would be my last first date. 

From Comstock, we walked nearby to the oldest bar in San Francisco, the Saloon. A long, skinny, hole in the wall, with live music. As soon as we sat down, Tommy locked me in for date #2.

tommy’s recollection

Second of all - thank goodness for Mike.

Despite me being just off a plane, showing up 20 minutes late and being generally frazzled, I managed to secure a follow-up date. When she said yes to date #2 I realized I couldn’t use the “Where do you want to go?” card twice in a row, so I was left in a tough spot because I literally had no idea what to suggest. 

I knew that one sibling had gotten me this far, so I decided to go to the other - Mike. We were sitting in the family room in Hillsborough, and I came clean.

Tommy: “Mike - I have no idea what to do in San Francisco for a second date. Do you have any ideas?”

Mike: “Looks like Van Morrison is playing at the Masonic Auditorium tomorrow.”

And 24 hours later, Ana and I were head-bopping in our seats with the legendary vocalist. We certainly brought the average age down, but it felt like a success.

Soon after was date #3 - Mini golf at Urban Putt. This was the date where I planned to wow her with my incredible putting talent. This was also the date where I learned Ana has incredible hand eye coordination and has a competitive edge...needless to say, she kicked my butt.

I think letting her win secured Date #4 - Giants game. 2018 was not a good year for the Giants, but on the positive side - I had fun facts in my back pocket for the whole starting lineup. If there was a lull in conversation, I knew I could blurt out - “EVAN LONGORIA! HE WAS ON THE RAYS LAST YEAR! YOU HAVE FAMILY IN FLORIDA RIGHT?!?”

I found out later that Ana was violently ill the whole game after getting “Africa shots” earlier in the week. The next day the Braskamps headed off on a South African Safari, and we started our two week long-distance relationship with a handful of dates under our belt.

ana’s recollection

About a week passed between our first date and date #2, yet it wasn’t until about an hour before that Tommy told me our plans: 

I got us tickets to Van Morrison at The Masonic. Let’s meet at the Tonga Room for a bite before the show.

- Tommy to Ana: August 2018

I immediately queued up Brown Eyed Girl and began getting ready before meeting Tommy outside of the restaurant. As soon as we got to our table, before date #2 had started, Tommy asked me on date #3. He was heading to Bryan and Georgia’s wedding on Friday and wanted to have lunch before he went out of town. I remember laughing and asking how he knew he was interested, we hadn’t even ordered our first cocktail. He said he just knew. 

The night that followed was amazing...we laughed, we shared stories, and we danced in our seats next to a room of 70-somethings. I was definitely interested.

Date #4 quickly followed: mini golf at Urban Putts. On the third hole, Tommy locked in date #5 — the loser would buy Giants tickets. At the eighth hole, there was a globe. Tommy told me to spin it and wherever my finger landed, we’d go on our honeymoon. 

Ana (laughing): “Guess we’re going to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I wonder what’s in Cape Verde…”

Unsurprisingly, we played 36 holes before determining the winner: Tommy. So I bought us tickets to the Giants Game the following week, date #5.  

I was hooked. But I also wasn’t sure what a two week hiatus during my family trip to Africa would mean for where things were going. I soon realized, we’d start up exactly where we left off.

Tommy picked me up after my 23 hour flight home, dropping me to unpack and recover from the jet lag. The next day he picked me up for date #6 — archery in Golden Gate Park. On the ride over he shared his location with me on Find My Friends, indefinitely. 

tommy’s recollection

I knew pretty early on I was going to fall in love with Ana. Everything about each other’s personalities complemented (or filled in the gaps in my case) perfectly. I ended up living with five other guys in Fort Mason with a heavy Menlo contingent that included Alex Curtis — one of the studs from her Montana trip — and Charlie Hazlehurst. When I would go to dinner with Ana’s many, many friends and mention where I was living, I learned that apparently everyone in the greater San Francisco area had been to a party at this house. Even though in my mind we were already “official”, it occurred to me that this living situation might not be “ideal” for a budding relationship. 

My fears were unfounded and suddenly that trip Ana took with the star studded single guys in Montana made sense. She’s just a wonderful person with a lot of friends, and I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. We went on to enjoy salsa lessons, Giants games, dinners with her many, many, many friends and countless other activities.

ana’s recollection

I fell fast and hard for Tommy. Our relationship was full of creative date nights, Sundays spent at the Fort Mason farmer’s market, yoga, running, skiing, dominos games, salsa lessons, time with friends, time with family, and more. It didn’t matter who we were with or what we were doing, I felt equally energized and relaxed when I was with Tommy. He felt like home.

Less than six months from the day we met, I invited Tommy to join my family in Miami to celebrate New Years Eve. During that trip, my dad, uncle Jose, Tommy and I went fishing, and Tommy caught his first (ever) fish. They played golf at Riviera Country Club, while I sunbathed. We had drinks by the Biltmore Hotel pool. We danced salsa at Casa de Cuba. We enjoyed many leisurely meals and lots of family time.

Just two months later, our worlds got rocked when my dad passed away suddenly. The days, weeks, and months that followed were unlike anything we could have anticipated. Together we found strength in adversity and slowly worked to put the pieces back together with the support of our friends and our family. 

We moved in together in December 2019 and our small San Francisco apartment turned into a co-working space soon thereafter. Just like that, we went from the preseason to the championship game. 

Highlights during this past year include morning coffee runs to the Philz truck, sunset walks with our chunky, chocolate labrador Winnie Coco, cooking together at home, game nights, which now include chess, dinners with friends, and lots of time spent with family. They also include trips to Cavallo Point, Sonoma, San Diego, and Carmel, where we got engaged last Thanksgiving.

These past three plus years are just the beginning. We cannot wait to open this next chapter with you as we become husband and wife.