Ari & Maddi initially met when Maddi and her family started going to Journey Church in 2011. Over the years, as both of them attended church, they became friends. Unbeknownst to Ari, Maddi had a pretty big crush on him, but had zero intention of doing anything about it. (You remember how awkward freshman year was right?) What Maddi didn't know was that Ari had a crush on her too. Ari's best friend (and now his best man, Malachi Amaro) encouraged Ari to text Maddi. The rest is history. We went from sending memes back and forth, to going on dates with each other. On September 10th, 2024, Ari and Maddi had a date on the beach planned, to play couple games and watch the sunset. Ari had called both of our families to meet us there as a surprise, and booked a photographer to propose to Maddi. It was arguably the best date ever & we're looking forward to many more :)