John and I first met in August of 2022, at 19 years old. John was an outgoing, kind firefighter with lots of goals and dreams ahead. Me, well, I was a stressed college student working at hobby lobby, and soon as a CNA in a nursing home. I will never forget how funny and respectful he was, always cracking jokes and felt so easy to be around. We enter 2023 together, graduating with my Associates degree with him right by side cheering me on. He always motivated me, and would always try to cheer me up when things became hard, which led to one of our favorite places... Crumbl Cookie. It became our treat, whenever we had met a goal, felt stressed, or when school and work became to busy and could only meet once a week, we always knew where to go when a new menu came out to sit and talk about life, our grievances, and just enjoy each others company. We balanced each other. After graduating in May 2023, we were approaching our one year, and we took our first big trip together to Florida for a week. It had been a while since I had touched home, and taking that 8 hour drive felt good knowing I had someone to experience it with me. I had shown him all of my favorite childhood places, experienced a thunderstorm in Clearwater, riding mopeds in St. Augustine, to being able to visit my late grandmother Arline. This memory always stuck with me, as we sat by her cremation stone while he listened to all my crazy stories I shared with her, and I got to tell her about John, knowing that she wouldve pulled him into the kitchen to help make brownies if they had gotten to meet. He talked to her, and it brought closure to me that I didnt know I needed. We had left Florida knowing this was just the beginning. 2024 rolls around, we have moved out, gotten to have our first legal drink, got to take more trips and experience new places together. John and I had taken step in our relationship and adopted our first pet. We have a now 3 year old Buff Tabby cat named Donna, and she is our entire world. We have gone through a lot together, and now entering 2025 we know we will only continue to grow. We took a big trip to California in May of 2025, not knowing what surprise would come. We had spent 2 days in beautiful San Francisco, and ate so much good food and visited all of the most popular tourist attractions. May 13, our first official day, we had gotten dressed up, and I was surprised with a reservation to a beautiful rooftop dinner. John had made sure we could still make it to the Golden Gate Bridge to watch the sunset and see one of the most iconic views in all of California. With just enough time to spare, he had taken me to a secluded beach with the bridge in perfect view, and there he had gotten on one knee, and asked me to marry him. Obviously saying yes, I was surprisingly greeted by photographers he had hired before the trip to capture those candid moments, to which were shared on our engagement announcement cards. We had spent the rest of our trip in Los Angeles, me excited to be a fiancé, and later coming home to celebrate and share the news with family and friends... of course immediately sharing ideas to fulfill my childhood wedding dreams. We are beyond grateful for the things we have been able to experience and share, and cannot wait to spend the rest of our lifetime together. We are both so thankful to you, our friends and family, for your love and support. We can’t wait to celebrate the wedding with you soon!