We’re Getting Married!

Late one afternoon on campus, I was on my way to meet a teammate for spray tans. We were getting ready for the upcoming basketball game. I wasn’t paying much attention; my eyes were focused on the sidewalk. That’s when I noticed a tall man out of the corner of my eye. As we were about to pass each other, he suddenly said, “Excuse me.” I practically jumped. He immediately apologized, then promptly told me I was the prettiest girl he’d seen on campus and couldn’t believe we hadn’t met before. I wasn’t exactly impressed, thinking, "Oh, here we go." We ended up talking for a few minutes and realized we shared a deep passion for law enforcement and the fight against human trafficking, something incredibly important to both of us. Then came the classic move: he asked for my Snapchat. But I gave it to him anyway. Two weeks later, he asked me to be his girlfriend, and I said yes. Fast forward two amazing years, and we decided to take our first vacation together to Lake Tahoe. He had a few days off from work, and I had a rare weekend away from cheer. On our last day there, he suggested we go to a beautiful beach to take some “couple photos.” But when we arrived, I noticed someone hiding behind a tree with a camera in hand—one of my best friends and maid of honor, who just happens to be a photographer. That’s when I knew something was up. He dropped to one knee and asked me the question I’ll remember forever. And of course, I said yes.

I was hanging out with some friends of mine; we were bored and didn't have anything to do. They decided it would be entertaining to test my ability to talk to women on campus, so I obliged. They first were picking people I had zero interest in, but then I saw Mare walking down the road. I was like that's definitely the prettiest girl I have seen on campus, so I went up to her. I noticed she was an athlete, so when I walked up to her I asked her if she did track, but she quickly corrected by telling me she was a cheerleader. I was like dang every guys dream scenario. I told her I had to talk to her because she was the prettiest girl I'd seen on campus, which was corny, but true. We talked and I asked for her snapchat and she swears she was not interested, but I could tell she liked me and the passions we share when it came to human trafficking. So I took her on a couple dates like my mom taught me and then asked to her to be my girlfriend over 3 years later were on our way to be a family... and that's the story of how I decided to do door to door sales.