Some love stories start with a grand gesture or a whirlwind romance. Ours started with a crowded cafeteria and a chatty mom. On move-in day at Butler University, the campus was buzzing with nervous excitement. Sydney and her parents searched for an open table in Atherton Union, and by sheer luck (or fate), the only available seats were at a table with another family. Sydney’s mom, Laurie, asked if they could join, and Bryce’s mom, Debbie, happily agreed. Then, she proceeded to ask Sydney and her parents about a million questions while Bryce sat mortified, silently willing her to stop. In the midst of that mildly embarrassing introduction, Sydney and Bryce discovered they were in the same engineering program. A week later, their paths crossed again when their professor grouped them together for a project—along with Sydney’s soon-to-be best friend, Sara. The rest, as they say, was history. They officially started dating in April 2018, and from the beginning, Bryce set the bar high. He cleaned Sydney’s car without her knowing, surprised her with flowers, and even called restaurants to have prices removed from the menu (a move Sydney still appreciates). Over the years, he’s carried more overfilled moving boxes than he cares to count, but he wouldn’t change a thing. Sydney, for her part, taught Bryce calculus, planned adventures to push them out of their comfort zones, and supported his passion for bass fishing—even helping him start Butler’s Bass Fishing Club. Along the way, they adopted their two dogs, Harper and Crew, and built a life full of Monopoly showdowns (which Bryce somehow always loses, despite his economics degree), hikes, fishing trips, and great meals. Sydney has always had expensive taste when it comes to food, something Bryce learned early on. When he asked her about her favorite restaurant, she casually mentioned a breakfast spot on the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Seven years later, that conversation came full circle when Bryce got down on one knee and proposed to her in St. John. Now, after years of love, laughter, and a whole lot of Monopoly victories (for Sydney, of course), they’re excited to start their next chapter together.