Brayden and Izzy first met at CityBridge Community Church. Brayden was faithfully serving on the host team, and Izzy had just moved to Texas in July of 2024. By January, Izzy jumped into the young adults ministry as a table leader, where she and Brayden began crossing paths more often. One evening in early January, they both attended a s’mores and game night at their friend Ellie’s house. They ended up by the fire, talking for at least an hour! Not long after, Izzy invited Brayden to go dancing with a group of friends she had met that same night. Once again, the two found themselves deep in conversation for another hour, and by the end of the night at Red River, Brayden asked Izzy out. At the time, they decided it was best to focus on building a solid friendship first, and both chose to pursue each other as friends for a season. By May of 2025, that friendship had grown into something more. For their first date, Brayden drove to Izzy’s work, helped her move furniture out of her classroom, and even carried a bookshelf up three flights of stairs into her apartment! Afterwards, they went for a walk at Oak Point Nature Preserve and grabbed Chipotle for dinner. A week later, over coffee in downtown McKinney, they sat by the water fountain, and Brayden asked Izzy to be his girlfriend. The rest, as they say, is history.