Carly led a small group at Life Church that Tristan joined when he moved to Kansas City from Denver in search of community. Little did he know, he'd be going on a date a few weeks later on April Fool's Day and eventually spending the rest of his life with her. Jeff Mott was to thank for this. He saw love at first sight and told Carly to "pull up her big-girl pants and go on a date" as she was being stubborn and refusing to be pursued. Their first date started at Hi-Hat Coffee and moved to Parkville where they walked at English Landing Park and shut down Stone Canyon Pizza because there just wasn't enough time to talk about everything. The pursuit was on and the rest is history!

Carly's friend Elli was able to distract her all day as Tristan prepared for the special moment. Carly had her suspicions but was caught off guard when Elli planned for the 3 of them to go to a Halloween party. When Carly and Elli arrived at her parent's house to meet Tristan, Elli asked if she could see the burn pile in the back field because she wanted to have a bonfire when we returned from the party. There, about 25 yards away, Tristan was waiting by a split-rail cedar fence he had built himself. In front of the fence lay a cowhide rug, with a sunflower lasso wreath hanging above it. Pictures throughout the years lined the walkway leading up to him. Carly was so surprised that she forgot to walk until Tristan motioned for her to come closer. When she reached the fence, Tristan read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and popped the question! The surprises didn’t stop there—Carly was soon joined by her best friend from Arkansas, her sister from Canada, extended family, and a house full of friends, all ready to celebrate. We spent the night eating s'mores, spraying champagne, and soaking in the joy!

We couldn’t wait to get married and start our lives together, so we ran off to New Mexico and eloped at White Sands National Park! We couldn't imagine celebrating this next chapter without you, so we eloped with intentions of a traditional celebration with friends and family. We were quickly blessed with our little man: Stetson James Eve. So now, we now have the honor of celebrating our first wedding anniversary with our family, friends, and sweet boy.