We're getting married!

Hanna and I met on October 1, 2020, during the first debate practice of our junior year. We were the only two Lincoln-Douglas debaters there that day—just before I was pulled out of school for a week due to a COVID close contact. Our friendship grew steadily over the next year, and on October 21, 2021, I finally asked her out. For our first date, we met at the movie theater to see Dune. Unfortunately, I underestimated the driving time and arrived eight minutes later than we had agreed. Hanna will never let me forget this. From the very beginning, we both felt this relationship was different. There was an immediate sense of comfort and connection that made everything feel like it was meant to be. When word got out a week later and we realized that we needed to tell our debate coach, I had no hesitation in asking her to officially be my girlfriend. We dated for the rest of our senior year and the following summer, and then made the decision to stay together as a long-distance couple as we left for college. As expected, long-distance was hard on both of us. We couldn't afford to see each other as much as we'd like, and we were both busy with school. In addition to our coursework and part-time jobs, we both were invested in extracurriculars. Hanna got involved with student government, and I joined the leadership team for my university's Catholic Student Association. Despite all of this, through the grace of God, we made it work. Hanna flew out to Houston to visit me for our anniversary on November 3rd, and I am happy to say that SHE was the one who made us late for our dinner reservations! Over the next few years, we made the most of our limited opportunities to see each other. We visited family in Denver and Nashville, made day trips down to Galveston Beach, and even made it out to New Orleans to catch the Eras Tour. I started planning out how to propose to Hanna in the fall of 2024. I knew that long-distance would make it tough to surprise her, so I reached out to some of her friends for help (shoutout to Brooke and Neesh!). I planned out a trip to Sioux Falls with Hanna, then flew up a day earlier than she expected. Brooke, Hanna's maid of honor, convinced Hanna to have a girls' night out and brought her to the proposal spot. Given the fact that I'm writing this for our wedding website, you can probably guess what her answer was! We're so excited to celebrate with all of you in June of 2026! Thank you for all of your love, advice, and support over the years!