Our Story

Annalise and John met on the first day of college. Here's a picture of their freshmen orientation group!

The night it all began! John and Annalise knew each other, but Julia (who took this picture), tried to set them up at a party in 2015. They'd go on to be "just friends" for another year.

During their friends era, AG and John bonded over scary movies, card games, and their favorite skittle (lime). Summer after freshman year, they talked almost every day. (Even though John was in Korea)

By the time sophomore year started, they knew they liked each other. And after a year as friends and several months of dating, John finally asked Annalise to be his girlfriend on October 26, 2016.

This picture featuring Seb and Julia from 2016 is still Annalise's phone background. Everyone always asked these four what would happen if one of the couples broke up. Luckily we never found out!

ROTC dining out, 2016.

Annalise and John were in the same Residential College at Yale. This is where their dorms were, as well as the library, dining hall, etc. They spent a lot of time in this courtyard over the years!

Harvard-Yale, 2016. Yale won for the first time in a decade, and John and Annalise were the first one's on the field when the game ended.

Harvard-Yale, 2017. The spade necklace was an anniversary gift from John, as a nod to their shared love of card games. AG still wears it every day.

Annalise and John both spent the summer after junior year in DC. Annalise got her job offer at the end of this summer, so they knew they were looking at long distance post-graduation.

Made it to senior year!

This is typically what happened when Annalise and John tried to take pictures together. John has promised to be a better sport on wedding day.

Harvard-Yale, 2018. The Game this year was at Fenway Park!

If I had a nickel for every time Annalise wore a wedding dress at GCC with John by her side, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. (Deb ball, 2018)

ROTC dining out, 2019.

Annalise and John graduated from Yale in 2019. This marked the beginning of their long distance journey.

AG and John were both able to make it back for their first post-grad Harvard-Yale. Between the pandemic, law school, and pilot training, it would be their last one together until the proposal!

John moved to Texas for pilot training just months before Covid. This photo was taken in July 2020. AG and John hadn't seen each other in 6 months. It was (and still is) the longest they'd been apart.

One silver lining of the pandemic is that remote work allowed AG to spend as much time as she wanted in Wichita Falls. This photo is from John's first solo flight in November, 2020.

These photos were taken in July 2021. Annalise was about to start law school at UNC. John, still in Wichita Falls, Texas, was about to start his next phase of pilot training.

Long distance was already hard, but with Annalise about to start school, they knew it was about to get harder.

But through Facetime study dates, visits when they could manage, and lots and lots of patience, they made it work.

When John dropped F-16s, there were conflicting feelings. It was amazing to see his hard work pay off. But most F-16 assignments are abroad, which meant a challenging road ahead for AG's law degree.

But just like everyone told them, it all worked out for the best. John can't imagine flying anything else. And guess what planes are flown at the nearest AFB to Chapel Hill? F-16s, of course.

After finishing up in Wichita Falls, John headed to San Antonio for F-16 specific training. AG got to spend part of the summer there after 1L year, working for Texas RioGrande Legal Aid.

John surprised Annalise for her 26th birthday. When he showed up at her parents' house in Greensboro, she was truly speechless for the first time in her life.

John and Annalise traveled to Mexico City for a wedding in October, 2022. John may not have known, but Annalise was definitely taking wedding notes at the time.

Annalise made it to every home football game during her 3L year; John made it to half of them. (Don't ask how they got him into the student section, that's a trade secret).

In December 2022, John moved to Sumter, South Carolina to join the 79th Fighter Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base. (Tiger Tiger!)

Sumter is just a 3.5 hour drive from Chapel Hill. For the first time in four years, Annalise and John could visit each other without booking a flight.

Annalise really thought John was going to propose during this jet photo session, especially since it was the day before her birthday. But he had a better plan.

The night before Harvard-Yale 2023, John got down on one knee in the Branford Courtyard where he and Annalise met 8 years before, Annalise's favorite place at Yale, and the place they fell in love.

This is a personality pic. Annalise is clearly not in control of her emotions, and John looks slightly concerned about this.

She said yes! Or as John puts it, she actually said nothing - all she did was cry.

The biggest surprise of the night was that John invited Annalise's parents to New Haven for the proposal. This photo is from the moment she saw them walking across the courtyard.

Annalise and John had their first conversation on these steps in 2015. It was about Ender's Game (yes, the science fiction novel). Hurray for reading!

Harkness Tower in Branford Courtyard stealing the show!

This photo was taken at the Harvard-Yale alumni tailgate. Annalise was impressed that sooooo many people came out to celebrate her engagement.

To top off the weekend, Yale beat Harvard 23-18.

Right after the engagement, Annalise spent Thanksgiving with John's family at the farm in Alabama. John took AG to the farm for the first time in 2016. They look forward to many more memories there!

Last law school prom! Another benefit of John being a drive away is that he can fly on Friday morning, and make it to Chapel Hill by Friday evening.

Engagement session in Greensboro!

If you made this this far, thanks for reading! Annalise has many skills, but being concise is not one of them.