We were both in ministry and Honors classes together our freshman year at SAU, and that's when we started bumping into each other more and more around campus. We would meet early in the morning at the clocktower once a week to pray, saw each other at spiritual life events, and hung out with the same friend group. When summer hit, we went on a few dates, but we didn't finally decide to start a relationship until fall semester of our sophomore year. We officially started dating on October 1st, the first night of our Spiritual Life Retreat at Somerset Campground while looking at the stars around a campfire. We've been growing in our love for each other ever since.

We had talked about marriage and our future together a lot during our time dating, so we knew we wanted to spend our lives together very early on in our relationship. At the end of our junior year, we were planning a summer trip to Colorado with our families. During the planning process, I (Alanna), had a feeling it would be the perfect opportunity for Eli to propose! So we coordinated a way for both of our families to come along and be present for that special moment. The first day of our trip together, we went on a beautiful hike in the mountains with everyone. I wasn't expecting the proposal to happen on that hike, but when we got to the top of the mountain, the perfect opportunity came. We were looking over the skyline together, and that's when he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was so excited and surprised, of course I said yes! We spent the rest of our trip going on the most amazing hiking adventures together with our families. It was absolutely wonderful. This summer, we are so excited to celebrate our marriage with you! It brings us so much joy to have all of our loved ones together in one place. We are so thankful for your constant support and prayers. See you on July 7th!