We met at Althouse Training Center in Kutztown—Owen’s grandfather’s gym. Haileigh first walked through the doors in December of 2022, and that’s where our story began. Over the next year, we got to know each other in the most everyday, meaningful ways—through workouts, conversations, and many shared interests. By December of 2023, that connection had grown into something more, and we officially started dating.

In April of 2025, Owen relocated to his new duty station in Fairbanks, Alaska. A month later, we pulled together the resources for Haileigh to visit. Owen had been planning to propose during the trip. After a few days of Haileigh (half-jokingly) making comments about a proposal at the Antler Arch in downtown Fairbanks, Owen decided to switch up his plan. Just a few hours before our scheduled visit to the arch, he caught Haileigh completely off guard and proposed in our cozy Airbnb—turning a known plan into a surprise!

We got legally married in June of 2025 to support our next steps as a couple, especially with Owen serving in the active duty military. To simplify the process, we chose to get married through Utah County’s virtual wedding ceremony system. While we were both initially hesitant about going this route, it turned out to be the right decision. It allowed us to begin the paperwork and application process to bring Haileigh up to Owen’s duty station as quickly as possible.