I was raised in Leawood, Kansas. Growing up, I attended Brookwood Elementary, Mission Valley Middle School, and Rockhurst High School. Ellie grew up in Prairie Village, Kansas - attending Briarwood Elementary, Mission Valley Middle School, and Shawnee Mission East High School. Do you see where our paths cross yet? We first met each other in middle school at Mission Valley; the good ole Mustangs. We even dated - briefly. You know, the usual 1-2 week middle school relationship - where you barely see each other and probably held hands only once? Yes, that was us... and that was just the beginning. Little did I know, there was an invisible string leading us both to The University of Kansas where we would soon meet again. It wasn't until junior year when our paths crossed once more. Ellie lived with her Kappa Delta friends and I lived in a house with a few of my friends. A night that I can vividly remember was a party held at Ellie's house - which was coincidentally two houses down from the frequently visited, Jayhawk Cafe. It was a cold February night when Katy, a roommate of Ellie's, and now a bridesmaid, had invited me to their Valentine’s Day party. Katy and I lived on the same floor freshman year and became fast friends- small world, right? Little did I know that on that night, I would be running into my now, forever Valentine, Ellie. I recognized Ellie as soon as I walked into her house. We hadn't seen each other since our middle school days, 9 years ago. We quickly struck up conversation. This was the night that would tie us back together, once again. We spent about a year getting to know each other until, senior year, I finally grew the courage to ask Ellie to be my girlfriend. After Ellie graduated from KU, she moved back home with her parents. I stayed in Lawrence for another year and we visited each other as often as we could. Once I moved home, we spent the next few years going back and forth at each other's parent's houses while we grew both individually and together as a couple. It wasn't until January 2023 when we moved in together. We are now living in our first home together in Kansas City, KS and could not be more excited to start the rest of our lives together. Fast forward to August 2023 when I asked my best friend to marry me.

We had planned a trip down to our favorite summer spot - Lake Martin, Alabama. This time was special though. Tucker and I had invited my family to join us. The time I could share this special place with my family had finally come. I had wanted them to experience the lake for such a long time. I was so excited to show them all around this amazing place that I've been lucky enough to experience the past 4 summers with Tucker. About a week or so before the trip, my family messaged me that something came up and they weren't able to come to the lake anymore…although, Jenna, my sister, said she was definitely still coming. My family is known for their talent of planning so I thought this was a bit out of character for them. Once Tuck, Jenna, and I all arrived at the lake and the rest of my family didn't, I was slightly convinced they actually might not be coming. We spent the next day on the lake and that Friday evening we got dressed up to get dinner at Kowaliga Restaurant, a nicer spot on the lake. Jenna and I wore dresses and as usual, we did our hair and makeup. While doing our makeup, Jenna offered to put fake eye lashes on me. That is what fully convinced me something special was happening that night (sorry Jenna haha). I said “Jenna, we're at the lake, I am not doing that”. She insisted on doing something more elevated than my normal makeup routine, so I let her do my eye shadow. Tucker came up to check on us because I guess we were taking awhile…Jenna wanted to make sure I looked perfect and as we all know, beauty takes time. He made us a drink while we finished up and then we went down to take sunset pictures on the lake, as we always do. Jenna wanted to “test out the lighting” on her camera so she took some pictures of me.. and then her and I.. and then Tucker and I. She spent more time than usual taking pictures of Tuck and I, which caught me off guard. Out of nowhere, I hear my moms voice say "Ellie!”. I look over to see my whole family standing there all dressed up and looking cute, holding their phones up recording. I look back over at Tucker and he's down on his knee. I had a strong feeling he was going to propose that day, or even that evening, but didn't know how or when exactly. I was in absolute shock. My best friend asked me to marry him and I said YES, of course! We had the most incredible night celebrating with loved ones and sharing our big news with our closest people. Lake Martin will forever hold an extra special spot in our lives and hearts since that beautifully fated evening. It was everything I could've dreamt for and more - almost like some invisible string was leading us to this moment all along.