We Are Getting Married!

James and Deanna actually met through a "dating" app, Tinder, in May of 2020 just two months after James was sent home after studying abroad in Europe when the pandemic hit. Never had they both anticipated they would have met their future spouse. James and Deanna's love story is not one of instant connection, at least from Deanna's POV. She had just gotten out of a very complicated relationship and was not sure of jumping back into something. But, something told her to meet James the day after they matched. James knew what he was doing when he enticed Deanna to meet, knowing that his puppy (Nova) would be joining. So, that next day, they met for the first time at Reading Crest Park, which was a 40 minute drive for James. About a month later, Deanna and James made it official. Two years later, here they are getting married!

About a year and half into their relationship, Deanna and James started to seriously discuss marriage. Within that time, they had done long distance in college, both graduated (James with his Bachelors and Deanna with her Masters), they moved to Lancaster and into their first apartment together, added a second dog to their family, taken countless trips together, and celebrated their holidays together. Deanna had an instant connection to the Friel family, and same for James with the Bibbus family. Both families loved their relationship, and Deanna's family would tell her "he's a keeper". James and Deanna started to discuss getting engaged, Deanna would not so nonchalantly send ring pictures. So, she knew that the time would be coming soon by the time March of 2022 came around. All the while, James had been planning the proposal for quite a few months before it actually happened. The original plan was to propose at the park where Deanna and James first met. But, that plan changed when they booked their trip to Arizona to visit Deanna's sister, Kylie. James knew the proposal would be even more special having Kylie present. Although Deanna had an idea that the proposal would be coming soon, never in a million years did she think it would happen in Arizona. So, on Friday May 6th, Deanna, James and Kylie took a trip to Hole in the Rock in Phoenix, AZ. After seeing that it was crowded with people, James and Kylie led Deanna to a more secluded area close by and this is where James got down on one knee, letting Deanna know that he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Deanna was in shock, all the emotions flooded in, but it was an instant yes! And Kylie captured it all on video. Soon, it was explained to Deanna where her ring came from. Some may know, that Deanna and Kylie's grandfather, PopPop Bruce, passed away back in 2013 when Deanna was just a sophomore in high school. This loss to the family was gut wrenching. Those that knew him, loved him. Well, his wife, our Nanny Cathy, actually gave James her ring that PopPop Bruce upgraded for their 5-year wedding anniversary. And so, this is the ring that Deanna has the honor of wearing on her finger today.