Donovan and Alyssa’s story began the summer before senior year of high school on a camping trip at Green Lakes. Alyssa tagged along with some friends, not knowing she was about to meet Donovan—and that the spark of a nine-year adventure was about to begin. They became fast friends. Within a few months, Alyssa started to catch feelings for Donovan. But he was…well, a little clueless. Luckily, friends filled him in and the feelings were absolutely mutual. He was all in. After senior homecoming on October 29th, 2016, Donovan officially asked Alyssa to be his girlfriend. High school wrapped up and college took them in different directions. Donovan headed to Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado while Alyssa stayed in Oregon for her nursing prerequisites. They spent three and a half years making long distance work before being reunited full-time in March 2020—just as the world shut down. Within a few short months, Donovan was accepted into a PhD program for mechanical engineering at the University of Utah, and Alyssa into nursing school at Weber State. They packed up, moved to Salt Lake City, and never looked back. Since then, they’ve built a home together, found their community, and added two furry sidekicks to the mix—Bert the dog and Ernie the cat. Now, after nine years of love, growth, and adventures big and small, Donovan and Alyssa can’t wait to celebrate the next chapter with all of you!