In 2012 we met at church. It was love at first sight for Courtney, but Jesse wasn't quite there yet. We did become best friends in the meantime. Church, river trips, hanging out at each other's house; we became pretty close.

We started dating in May of 2014. It was a classic high school sweetheart story, we were best friends, our first serious relationship, so lots of learning curve, laughter, and tears; we even got engaged. But we were young, life happened, and we ended up on separate paths. Five years later, in July of 2021, we reconnected through Ryan (the best man); we hung out one time and became pretty inseparable. Though we had grown as people and had new stories to tell, new hobbies to share, and were pretty different then the 18 year old versions of ourselves, we picked up where we left off easily. We started dating in October of 2021 and the rest is history 💕

In December of 2023 Jesse plotted with Skylia (aka the Maid of Honor) to plan the proposal. We were already planning on taking a Christmas trip to Mount Petit Jean, they decided it was the perfect time to pop the question. Having already worked together to find the ring, Jesse and Skylia (not so) secretly set up a hike to the waterfall, in which Skylia followed behind. It was the quietest she has even been in her entire life. The hike got started later than planned, so it was a rush against sunset to make it to the waterfall. Once we made it to the bottom of the trail, we took in the beauty of the waterfall. When Courtney turned around Jesse was down on one knee, finally asking her to be his wife. Skylia popped up from behind the rocks for a short lived celebration, as Jesse was rushing to ensure we made it back up the trail before dark. We got to properly celebrate with Skylia and Jeremy back at the Airbnb and later with the rest of our loved ones. All in all, it was a perfect engagement and the beginning to forever 💜