We first met at our church's young adult group in the summer of 2018 where we were paired together for prayer time. After initial introductions and a few follow-up weeks of small talk, Alex thought, "Annie would be great to marry" and Annie thought, "He's in college." Fast forward to September 1st, 2019 when Alex sat a row behind Annie at a Sunday service. At the pastor's prompting to greet those around you, Alex reintroduced himself: "You're Annie, right?" It didn't take long for Annie to piece together that Alex had graduated and she made her way back a row to sit by Alex. Over the next few weeks, Alex and Annie's friendship grew over bike rides, ice cream, baking, walks, and a shared faith. On October 12th, after Annie already concluded "Alex would be great to marry," we made our relationship official.

One of Alex's top priorities for his proposal was to surprise Annie. Given how nosy (heightened observation skills, some might say) Annie is, this was going to be a difficult task. Alex wanted to propose at the end of a bike ride at Jones Island Park, a special place to both Alex and Annie overlooking Grays Lake. Annie had already guessed that this would be the location but was thrown off when the weather and a statewide shelter-in-place mandate changed their bike riding plans. Alex casually suggested to instead go for a run, a pastime that both he and Annie have enjoyed since their high school cross country days. Before leaving on the run, Annie checked Alex's hoodie pocket for any signs of a ring and assured herself that this would not be the moment: "No way he's going to propose when we're sweaty." Little to Annie's knowledge, Alex managed to run for 3 miles with a ring box in his hat. At Jones Island Park, Alex got down on one knee and asked to spend the rest of his life with Annie. Her response? "Of course!"