Let's start at the beginning. We first knew of each other back when we both attended Chelsea High School. However, we were in different classes and our friend groups did not overlap much. Josh's brother, Nate, actually dated a good friend of mine, so I was more familiar with Nate at the time. Josh went off to Michigan State University and I ended up attending the University of Michigan. Fast forward to the end of my college career, Josh was living in Florida but we would run into each other out on the town in Ann Arbor when he was home visiting friends and family. Josh soon moved back from Florida and we started to see more and more of each other. With a push from my friend Arlene, I made my move (says Josh). A handful of nights at our favorite Ann Arbor bar at the time, Cantina, and our relationship truly began. From Ann Arbor to Grand Rapids, to Royal Oak, to Ferndale, back to Ann Arbor and finally to our home in Pinckney- the past 8+ years have been a blessing and now we're FINALLY getting married!

Josh wanted me to make sure everyone was aware of just how hard it is to surprise me before going further into this story. With that being said, Josh made a plan to visit the Arb in Ann Arbor to see the peony garden that I had been begging to visit before they were out of bloom. We were to follow that with a visit to our favorite brewery with our friends, Biz & Glover. As it turns out, Josh had completely forgotten that he was to have oral surgery that morning, but stuck to the plan anyway. As we were getting ready to leave the house, I could feel something was up. Josh was getting dressed far nicer than he otherwise would and actually suggested an outfit for me (weird). On top of that he was acting a bit strange. With these clues in my head, we made our way to the Arb to meet Biz & Glover. Naturally, we were late in the season and the peonies were no longer in bloom (more like super dead). We walked the trails a bit and made our way down by the Huron River. We found a nice spot by the river and Josh got down on one knee. Being the romantics that we are, before Josh could even speak I blurted out, "I FREAKING KNEW IT!". After some pictures and a bottle of champagne, we made our way to the brewery where Josh had family and friends waiting to surprise us. Even in the midst of a global pandemic we were able to toss back a few beers in celebration!

This celebration has been 8 years in the making! We are extremely excited to celebrate with all of you! We have decided to have our wedding in Grand Rapids, MI where we spent a lot of time together early in our relationship. At the time, Josh was living in Grand Rapids directly across the street from Founders Brewery, so as you can imagine, it was easy for us to fall in love with the city.