Maria met Luke her first day of college at a campus ministry (CCF). When she saw Luke walk up to her, she immediately felt attracted to him. As a bonus, he talked so passionately about Jesus and CCF that when he asked for her phone number, she gave it to him. Luke, on the other hand, would take a little longer to become interested in Maria. He had just gotten through a purposeful year of singleness to grow closer to God. Luke started to notice Maria when he saw how athletic she was during Ultimate Frisbee. As the seasons started to change, Maria confided in Luke's close friend, Jessie. She told Jessie about her crush on Luke. Little did she know, that Luke had told Jessie the same thing. When Luke and Maria realized they liked each other, they met up to talk about how to proceed. Luke informed Maria that he could not date her until the end of the school year because he was her freshman leader and he wanted to honor the contract he signed at the beginning of the year. Maria agreed, so they started to build their friendship and quickly became best friends. When the year ended, Maria and Luke went on their first official date, a picnic at the Wildlife Center. The date went perfectly and this coming May, Luke and Maria will have been dating for three years.

On December 15th, Maria spent the first half of the day hanging with her best friend, (also bridesmaid) Madi. Luke, on the other hand, was working that day, or so Maria thought. While Maria spent the day relaxing, watching T.V, and drinking mimosas, Luke was running around planning the most epic proposal ever. Luke spent the day running back and forth between various locations, answering phone calls, and delegating responsibilities to others in on the surprise. He even went so far as to go to where he was supposed to be working just to send Maria snapchats, so she would believe the lie. While Maria was hanging out with Madi, her little sister, Morganne texted her and asked if she wanted to go see the Christmas Lights with her and her boyfriend. Maria agreed! The Christmas Lights have a super special meaning for her and Luke. Luke and Maria went to the Christmas Lights, years ago when they weren't allowed to date. They went to the Christmas lights every year after they dated. At the Christmas Lights, Luke realized that he loved Maria and it was also there that he realized he wanted to become a Pastor. Maria and Luke met up after Luke got off "work". They picked up Morganne and Grayson and headed to McAlister's to eat a quick dinner. At dinner, Luke went up to Maria and said "alright, are you ready to go and get engaged?" Maria didn't think much of this comment, because Luke had been making comments like that since the summer. She rolled her eyes and told Luke that he needed to stop making jokes. Luke, Maria, Grayson, and Morganne headed to the Christmas Lights. Morganne asked to see the chapel first. At this farm, there is a small chapel in the middle of the lights. Hanging on the door of the chapel was a white coat that matched the one Maria had worn her freshman year, but had lost. Maria, still unsure of what was happening, proceeded to put the coat on. Luke then tried to open the chapel doors, but they were locked.

Luke tried the doors again, but sure enough they were budged tight. Maria, unsure of what was going on, walked down towards Grayson who was having a conversation about "Sons of Anarchy" with a random guy who had been standing in front of the chapel (this guy was in on the surprise and had been guarding the door to the chapel). Maria turned back around and walked up the stairs to Luke, who had finally gotten the door cracked open. Now, Maria doesn't quite remember what Luke said before he opened the doors, but it went something like "alright, there aren't anymore secrets or surprises". He opened the doors and Maria was overcome by the lights hanging from the ceiling, the rose petals scattered all over the floor, and the various decorations at the front of the chapel. As she walked down the aisle, she was overcome with tears and kept saying "Oh my gosh, Luke". When they got to the end of the aisle, there was a Christmas tree with pictures of her and Luke from the past three years together. There was also, a painting, candles, and a wooden heart-shaped decoration that they had gotten from Joel and Niki's wedding the weekend before. Luke took Maria up to the stage, told her how much he loved and adored her, and then got down on one knee to pop the question. Of course, Maria said "YES"! Meagan, Maria's older sister (Matron of Honor), had been there the whole time taking pictures, which you will see throughout the website. Maria and Luke were engaged! But that wasn't all of the surprises. After the hugging and picture taking, Maria and Luke headed back to the car. Luke decided to stop by his place, so he could show Maria the wedding band. When they got to Luke's place, Maria walked in to a dark living room, which quickly became alive with shouts of "Surprise!" and "Congratulations!" Luke had invited family and close friends to his place to celebrate. Maria, in tears again, hugged and loved on everyone there. Maria would sum up this proposal as the most epic one ever.