We're Getting Married!

From John F. Kennedy Middle School to Plainfield East HS, John and Jordan were schoolmates with parallel friend groups for years, but they didn’t become friends until their junior year of high school. A 4-hour FaceTime in 2016 marked the beginning of their epic love story. John’s girlfriend at the time pushed them to talk so that they could discuss strategies for Jordan to woo his best friend. Little did we all know that it was the start of something new *insert HSM soundtrack here* 🎤 We both knew, in that call that we were meant to be best friends.

Through thick and thin, through foolishness, growth, and LOTS of advice, we were able to start dating in December of 2018 (!!!) From 1,000 miles away we cultivated our relationship. While John was at Purdue University and I was at Boston College, we learned a lot about communication and being extra grateful for the times we were able to see each other in person. After two and a half years of long distance, we had gone from novices to absolute professionals.... but we were absolutely tired of being apart. So, long story short, I moved to Lafayette, Indiana, where John (and more importantly, MAX) was working and living at the time! Here, we have been able to do simple, every day things that we have missed like grocery shopping, folding laundry, and being there for each other on bad days. We fell in love more everyday and the anticipation to be engaged was killing both of us! Little did I know that is was coming so soon...

July 24th, 2020. The special day. The anticipation was high on both sides. For John, his mind was swimming with coordination plans, his bullet-pointed proposal speech (which he tried to memorize during many bathroom breaks throughout the day), and hopes for secrecy and discretion from all parties, including himself. For Jordan, major suspicions juxtaposed with doubts that the day would ever come for her to be a fiancé. Not only was this the day she would possibly get engaged, but there was also the suspense of waiting for her nursing boards' results to come out that morning! At 8:00 am on the dot, Jordan checked her results, and... she passed!!!!! Filled with joy and relief, John and Jordan went to celebrate by going on a "double date" with Dan and Theresa Nelson at Prophetstown State Park before a "hangout event" with their church friends. Little did Jordan know that the double date was going to end in a special way, and that friends and family from out of town were waiting for them at the beautifully prepared "hangout". After snacking on berries and checking in with the Nelsons about how their relationship was going, the date ended with a goofy game: Each couple would split off and take 5 pictures, they would meet up to all exchange photos, and each couple would have to recreate the photos taken by the other pair. As John and Jordan wandered off in laughter and joy to begin taking photos, Dan and Theresa sprinted to a hidden overlook that John would soon lead Jordan to. Met by Emma Campbell and Ryan Voccio with Christi Whaley on FaceTime, the whole group waited in eager expectation for the big moment. Hearing Jordan's nervous laughter come into range, John exclaimed that he had an itch! Confused, Jordan watched John as he was seeming to scratch his waist near his pocket (the ring box had gotten stuck, a classic cover-up). Welling up with years of anticipation and joy, John asked the question their hearts were both longing for, "Will you marry me?"