We're getting married!

Madison and Josh met when the two of them became co-workers at the local Jimmy Johns near Grand Valley State University. Madison had just graduated and worked full time as a manger while pursuing her dream of becoming a full time photographer. Josh had gotten a summer job there while he continued to pursue his teaching degree at GVSU. First impressions were vastly different among the two of them. Madison saw him as another goofy college kid that would make her job at Jimmy Johns more difficult than need be. This proved to be an accurate assumption. Josh however, was immediately drawn to Madison but was intimidated by her alluring presence. This prevented him from gathering up the courage to ask her out until much later on. Both Madison and Josh made friends with many of their co-workers and this in turn led to more conversations and opportunities to be around each other. Eventually, Josh decided to finally ask Madison out on an official date after many months of admiring from afar. To his surprise, she said yes! Their first date took place at “Cinco De Mayo” which was a local Mexican restaurant in Allendale, Michigan. Madison was overcome with joy when Josh brought her flowers when he arrived to pick her up. This gesture proved to Madison he was serious about getting to know her as well as making her feel important. The date went extremely well despite the nerves that both of these two felt during this romantic evening. Something about this moment in time felt different for them and they mutually decided to continue and explore this possibility. Not long after, the two of them attended a Halloween party together that their friends were hosting. It only took a couple of weeks, but Josh knew he wanted to ask Madison to be his “girlfriend.” But as the night came to an end, the two parted ways without Josh saying anything. As Madison drove away, Josh started to feel knots in his stomach. The nerves got the best of him in the moment but eventually his strong feelings for Madison compelled him to drive to her apartment in the middle of the night to let her know that he could not go one more minute as “just friends.” The two officially became a couple on October 29th, 2021.

During the month of August, Madison and Josh had planned to visit Josh’s family up north at their cabins. Douglas Lake had held a special place in Josh’s heart for many years, being the place that his family visited every year during the summer since he was a baby. Not long before they planned to leave, Josh had decided he was ready to take the next step in his relationship and reached out to Madison's parents to ask for their blessing to propose to her in the coming month. Before leaving, Josh told his parents of his plan to propose at the lake and they were overjoyed with excitement and helped set up what he envisioned that moment would look like. The day of the proposal, Josh had asked Madison to go on a walk so that they would be away long enough for his family to decorate the boat with pictures and letters spelling out the words ‘Marry Me.” These were hidden underneath the seats of the boat so that the moment would be a surprise. The two of them arrived back in the afternoon and as the sun was beginning to set, Josh took Madison out on the boat to watch the sunset. The boat also had a small cooler on board filled with drinks as well as the ring that was hidden inside. As the two were watching the sun slowly go down in the distance, Josh grabbed the ring out and told Madison to grab a blanket from under the seats because it was getting cold out. As she opened up the latch and saw the display his family had made, she instantly began to cry. Madison turned around to see Josh down on one knee as he took her by the hand. Tears filled both of their eyes as Josh proclaimed his love for Madison and asked if she would do him the honor of spending the rest of her life with him. She nodded her head in delight not being able to get any words out because of being overwhelmed by the moment. The two of them hugged as Josh slipped the ring onto Madison’s finger. The ride back to the dock, they could see his family in the distance clapping and cheering. The two of them were officially engaged on August 4th 2023.