We love you all and are so excited to celebrate with you!

We actually attended Texas A&M University at the same time and knew mutual people. But God would have us meet after college and in another state! It all started when Kristen decided to put down roots in Fort Walton Beach, Florida with her best friend from college, Madison. Madison and I met our friend Paul who introduced us to more friends. One weekend in September 2021, Paul organized a friend get together in Pensacola. It was a Friday night dinner and going out in the town. I ended up sitting next to Drake during dinner. We eventually introduced ourselves and talked about working full-time and being in graduate programs. When I told Drake about Madison and I’s friendship and how we met in college, Drake told me he also went to Texas A&M. At first I didn’t believe him, and he was a little confused on my reaction. Haha! I couldn’t believe it because since spending time in Florida, I had met many different types of people from across the country. I had barely met people from Texas or had a common connection like that. So I was tickled by that and it brought me a sense of comfort! I would later find out that Paul told Drake about me and Madison beforehand and how we needed to meet each other since we all went to A&M. Drake and I became friends right away and felt comfortable around each other. Drake later invited me to his church, and we kept hanging out with our mutual friends. Our first date was on October 8, 2021 at this beach snack bar called Juana’s in Navarre, and we have been together ever since!

I wanted to plan a proposal that was sentimental to our first few dates together. The instances that sprang to mind were our first date and the time that we took pictures in Seaside. Eventually doing the proposal at Seaside was what I went with and decided to keep the secret by having Paul and Bethany tell Kristen that they wanted to do a photoshoot at Seaside like Kristen and I had done. So with the day planned for December 17th, we all drove out to 30A and set up at the pavilion overlooking the Gulf. After taking pictures of everyone separately and having some fun being goofy, we set up for the real deal. When Kristen spun around throwing flower petals in the air, I was down on one knee to propose… and the rest as they say is history!