When Jessica first met Luke at a wedding, she knew she had met the right person. Luke felt the same way, and their relationship officially began after their friend Becca's wedding.

The seeds of this love story were sown years earlier, in the summer of 2014, at a bar in Birmingham, Alabama, US – what Luke still refers to as the "butterfly effect."

At the time, Alabama was not a popular holiday destination for Luke, Chris, and Charlie, three British men in their twenties. They visited the state by chance during a road trip across the US.

Alice and Chris, Jessica and Luke, Becca and Charlie, from left. Photo: CNN

As avid fans of American football and supporters of the New Orleans Saints, the three British tourists decided to fly to Atlanta, Georgia. From there, they rented an oto for a two-week journey to New Orleans and back. En route, they stopped in Birmingham for a break and entered the first bar they saw.

Arriving during the day, the bar was empty. The three tourists ordered one beer each. Upon learning they were single, a bar employee suggested they return that evening for a law school student party. Luke, Chris, and Charlie found this to be an "interesting coincidence," as all three were also practicing law in the UK. The idea of socializing with American lawyers their age intrigued them.

"And so, we crashed the law school party," Luke recounted.

That evening, a law student named Alice was at the bar in Birmingham. Initially, she was not enthusiastic about the party and wanted to leave early. As she prepared to pay for her drink, she received a message from a friend: "Come outside, we're surrounded by charming British guys."

Alice looked at the message with skepticism but also curiosity. She followed her friend's advice and was introduced to the three British men – Chris, Luke, and Charlie – each holding a beer. They were charming, friendly, and a little tipsy.

Chris immediately made an impression on Alice. Her intention to leave suddenly became less appealing, but she still had to go home to care for her dog. Before leaving, she promised to return in one hour.

Meeting the men again at the bar, Alice instinctively gravitated towards Chris. Chris was also inexplicably drawn to the American woman. He even thought at the time, "I'm going to marry this girl," despite both being 23 years old. However, they did not exchange phone numbers.

The next morning, Chris, Luke, and Charlie got into their rental car, left Birmingham, and drove four hours along the Gulf Coast to the beach. Throughout the journey, Chris, sitting in the passenger seat, could not stop thinking about Alice, imagining a future with her before dismissing the idea. They lived on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, making a relationship seem unlikely.

Mid-journey, Luke unexpectedly revealed that he had given Alice Chris's number when she asked for it. One week later, Alice and Chris met at a football game in Mississippi. Chris invited her, and Alice decided to go, despite some hesitation.

Before flying back to the UK, Chris returned to Birmingham and spent three final days with Alice. It was a wonderful time for both, but their future remained uncertain. Chris returned to his life and work in the UK, while Alice prepared to complete her studies in the US. They had only known each other for a few days and had no long-term plans.

Nevertheless, Chris held onto hope. Across the Atlantic, they maintained contact with endless WhatsApp messages. Friends warned her it was just a "holiday romance." Her mother even suggested she might have been smitten "just because he had a British accent." But Alice knew her feelings were genuine and never considered it a fleeting fling.

For many months afterward, they continued exchanging long messages and occasionally flew to visit each other. Each meeting deepened their affection. When Chris moved to Hong Kong for a period, Alice flew to visit him. The evening before her trip, she stayed at her close friend Becca's house.

Charlie and Becca, Chris and Alice, and Luke and Jessica pose for a photo. Photo: CNN

In Hong Kong, Chris proposed to Alice. "We met in August 2014 and got married one year later," Alice recalled. The wedding took place in New Orleans, with Charlie and Luke, the groom's two close friends, in attendance. Alice also invited her friends, including Becca.

A few times during their first year of dating, Alice and Chris wondered if Becca would be a good match for Charlie, and they decided to set up their two friends.

Charlie and Becca first met in the spring of 2015. They felt an attraction but did not talk much. Before Alice and Chris's wedding, the second couple began exchanging numbers to text.

"I really liked her and counted down the days until we would meet again at Alice and Chris's wedding," Charlie said.

When he met Becca again at the wedding, he felt even more certain about his feelings. Becca had similar emotions. Throughout the wedding activities, they were almost inseparable. In the fall of 2015, Alice, Chris, Becca, and Charlie traveled together to Prague, Czech Republic, and then to Edinburgh, Scotland. During the year-end holidays, Charlie visited Becca's family in Florida, US.

For Becca, the family visit became a significant turning point. She had three older brothers, all of whom liked Charlie. One year later, they got engaged. Before meeting Charlie, Becca had dated someone for 6 years. When that person asked her to move to New York to live together, she refused. But when she met Charlie, she accepted his offer to move to the UK with him.

"I realized that with the right person, making decisions becomes very easy," Becca said. In the summer of 2017, they married on Long Island, New York. Alice and Chris were both present.

Luke – the third friend from that road trip – also attended. There, he met the love of his life, Jessica. Alice and Becca always described Jessica as "a wonderful girl." Luke was also a likable man, but according to Alice, no one truly knew what Luke wanted in love.

At this meeting, they were all adults, no longer young adults in their twenties. Relationships were no longer like youthful games, and matchmaking came with high expectations. Becca and Charlie decided to arrange seating so Luke and Jessica would sit next to each other during the wedding events.

"We talked for a long time," Jessica recalled. The more they talked, the more she realized how compatible they were. Becca, of course, did not miss this moment. She ensured the wedding photographer captured Jessica and Luke's first kiss.

Becca and Charlie with their two children visiting Alice and Chris in 2023. Photo: CNN

After a few months of flying back and forth between the UK and the US, Luke and Jessica decided to move to Dubai in the spring of 2018. To some, this was an impulsive decision. But Jessica and Luke believed they were meant for each other – Becca, Charlie, Chris, and Alice all supported them.

Like the two previous couples, Jessica and Luke married in Amsterdam that same year. They had planned a grander wedding in 2020 but postponed it due to the pandemic. Currently, they still live in Dubai. The other two couples initially lived in the UK, after which Alice and Chris moved to North Carolina, US, where they now live with their three children. Becca and Charlie also moved to Texas and have three children. Their children have become close friends and all consider Luke their uncle. The three couples remain in regular contact, despite the geographical distance.

To this day, the three British men still believe that their US trip was destiny. If someone had told Luke, Chris, and Charlie at 23 years old that they would marry American women and live thousands of kilometers from home, they certainly would not have believed it. But now, they are all grateful that that holiday brought them the great loves of their lives – three American wives.

By Anh Minh (Source: CNN)