We grew up attending church together. Laura admits to having a small crush at one point during these years, but Logan maintains that he couldn’t even keep her and her sister Sarah apart! Our friendship blossomed in high school, and we grew closer during marching band trips and academic team practices. However, Logan was in a relationship, leaving Laura thoroughly friend-zoned. That is, until Logan left for college at Missouri S&T and couldn’t get Laura off his mind. One night after church, while Logan was home over winter break, he finally worked up the courage to ask Laura on a date. Having resigned herself to a life of singledom at the tender age of seventeen, Laura reluctantly agreed, then proceeded to cry over the terrible mistake she had just made (a fact that Logan will never let her live down!). Needless to say, that first date went exceptionally well. We managed to survive over four years long-distance, as well as two summers VERY long-distance while Laura traveled to China and Germany to teach English. Over countless Pancheros burritos, hikes, and ‘Seinfeld’ marathons, our bond has grown so much stronger now that we’ve lived in the same place for two years. Embarking on adulthood amidst the global pandemic has made us realize that there’s no one else we’d rather face the challenges and joys of life with than each other.

Our decision to get married came about very organically over the course of the past two or so years as we grew to understand the path we wanted our lives to take together. In fact, we'd been in the early stages of planning our wedding several months before we even officially announced our engagement! Now came the rough part (at least for Laura): waiting for Logan to finally put a ring on her finger! Laura knew something was up when Logan planned an entire day out, unprompted, and showed up completely overdressed for our afternoon hike. That day in Jefferson City was filled with all of our favorite things: antiquing, strolling through a scenic garden, hiking, and, of course, ice cream. Laura was beginning to think she had read too much into things when they returned home for the evening. That is, until Logan pulled her out onto her family's front porch, got down on one knee, and finally put that ring on her finger. Officially beginning our new life together in the same spot where we'd said our goodbyes over the course of almost six years just felt so right. Our engagement couldn't have been more "us!"

As it turns out, starting adulthood in the middle of a pandemic is REALLY freaking hard. That said, we've managed to meet the challenges and finally feel ready to start our lives together. Laura works at the Columbia Public Library while pursuing her master's degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). Logan has worked his way up through the ranks at UPS and is now a supervisor. He heads into work just as Laura is trying to meet her midnight assignment deadlines! Sometime in the next two years or so, we're hoping to seek better opportunities in a bigger city, where Laura can work with local immigrant populations and Logan can finally dust off his chemical engineering degree. While our lives don't quite look the way we hoped they would at this point, we're so unbelievably proud of each other for everything we've managed to accomplish despite the circumstances.