Kasey and I both attended FSU and were heavily involved in the Catholic Student Union. For whatever reason, our respective friend groups seldom crossed paths and we were little more than acquaintances during our time in Tallahassee. That all changed in 2018 when our good friends Patty Moes (now Ikhwan) and Zahi Ikhwan tied the knot. Their wedding guests were a who's who of Southeastern United States Catholic legends between the ages of 20-35. Obviously, Kasey and I were there. The Ikhwans were extremely generous with their open bar and because of their Christian charity I was three sheets to the wind by the end of dinner at the reception. As I milly rocked across the dance floor my eye was caught by the stunning Kasey Gutierrez. I hadn't seen her in a few years but the combination of her beauty, my newfound liquid courage, and the DJ accepting all of my Migos requests gave me the confidence to approach her. In my head I swept her off her feet with my devilishly good looks and killer dance moves. Her version of the story is quite different but really, who can say? All I know is that after a few minutes of staring into her gorgeous eyes we were separated, never to reconvene for the rest of the night. As the weeks following the wedding rolled by, I could no longer fight the urge to reach out to her. But how to do it without being a weirdo? As I racked my brain and stalked her Facebook page for ideas, it came to me. I discovered she had walked the "Camino" (aka: The Way of St. James) in Spain the previous summer with someone I knew from my seminary formation days. I cleverly used this as an excuse to message her. After that, well it was only a matter of time before the Hynes charm overtook her. Our first date was an all-day Orlando extravaganza that rivaled most Bachelor episodes and within a few months we realized it was meant to be (just had to wait for me to get a real job and not be broke). So that's our story folks. The moral? God and love really do conquer all.

Kasey, I love you beyond description. God has truly blessed me with a gift that I could never be worthy of...the gift of you. As my Mama always says we're a perfect match and I find myself growing deeper in love with you each day. You are not only my love but my best friend. I look forward to all the days we will spend growing in love with each other, God, and our future family. Thank you for taking a chance on this silly silly guy who can't wait to marry you. Love, Johnny