We met through mutual friends in high school — 2015 to be more specific. Michael was just about to graduate high school, and Julie was about to finish sophomore year. We became close that summer, hanging out in the same friend group, but eventually drifted apart when the friend group went separate ways. We still stayed in contact for a while and texted each other here and there, and then Michael enlisted in the Navy in 2016. When he went away, our text exchanges became less frequent, but we eventually revealed to each other that we had always been secretly crushing on each other. Being that Michael was in Gulfport, MS and Julie was still home in Illinois, it was hard to make any type of relationship work, and nothing ever happened until Thanksgiving 2019, when Michael was home on leave. We both ended up at another mutual friend's party, and spent the whole night talking to pretty much only each other. That night finally sparked a relationship between us, and we dated long distance for 2.5 years. It was not easy, but the distance tested our relationship and helped our connection grow stronger. When Michael reenlisted in 2021, he was transferred to Maryland, and Julie moved out to be with him in the summer of 2022. Finally, Michael proposed when we were on vacation in Outer Banks, NC in July 2023, and well, here we are! If you've read this far, we can't want to share our special day with you!