Luke & I met while attending the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville. Unbeknownst to each other, we both decided to stay in Evansville for the summer. I was living with some friends at the time when Luke moved into the same apartment complex. We ended up meeting through a mutual friend (thx, Maria!♡). We started hanging out, calling and texting each other non-stop, and quickly got to know one another. Our first date was over queso and margs at Los Bravos #BestFirstDateEver! We soon became quite inseparable. Admittedly, I fell first but Luke was right behind me!

From our college days, living in multiple cities, raising five wild fur babies, to coming back to our roots to settle down... Luke and I have done a lot in our first ten years together! We started our romance in Evansville, IN where we learned and loved through college. We moved in together and brought home our first puppy all within the first 3 months of dating... some might say we were crazy in love. Then we were off to Nashville, TN in 2013 to spread our wings a bit. We made lifelong friends, made lots of memories, and even brought home the next two members of our fur family ...and a family we sure were creating! But we wanted more. "What's next?" was asked a lot. We knew we were ready for another adventure, but what and where? Luke and I always kept an open mind when thinking of our future and wanted to see and experience different places before deciding on our next move. We finally booked flights to California (with a serendipitous layover in Denver, Colorado). But due to a last minute scheduling issue with our connecting flight, we decided to just stay in Denver instead of continuing to Los Angeles. HELLO COLORADO, CALIFORNIA WHO?! Luke and I instantly fell in love with the Rocky Mountains and decided to call them home for the next 5 years. We hiked mountains, lived in a 20-foot RV, added to our fur family (again), cared for alpacas on the Wyoming border, and even bought our first home together. We truly lived, loved, and explored our way through Colorado and we'll be forever grateful for the experiences we were blessed with while there. In 2020, after a lot of thought and reflection, we decided to return to Southern Indiana to be closer to our families. So we packed up and traveled back across the country to Huntingburg and purchased our next home. And believe it or not, added the 5th (and final, says Luke) fur baby to the family. After ten unforgettable years together, Luke and I decided to seal the deal and make it official on June 10th, 2022!

Naturally, Luke and I wanted to start our next chapter while in the beautiful mountains of Colorado. We were headed to Estes Park for a dear friends wedding in September 2021 and decided to make it a vacation - one we'd always remember! We decided to go for an entire eight days... hiking, sight seeing, and exploring some areas we hadn't been to before. This was our first time back in Colorado together since we had moved back to Indiana and we were having an incredible time. I had known all along that this vacation was going to be "that vacation" but I knew nothing of what Luke really had planned. On day four, we woke up early at our AirBnb and headed out for bagels and coffee. Then we were off on the four hour drive to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Think desert in the mountains. Luke had everything planned out. We started the hike up and through the sand dunes with our sights on "High Dune", the second tallest dune in the park. I'm not going to lie, this was THE HARDEST hike of my life. Luke told me later that he actually got nervous half way through thinking I might actually bow out. But as he always does, he motivated and encouraged me to push through. So after 1.5 miles in and 629 feet up, we reached the summit together. And with our butts in the sand, Luke asked me to marry him. The moment was simply perfect, just as I had always imagined. I said YES (obviously) and we said YES to a forever together. P.S) The hike down was just as brutal as the hike up, but I had quite a nice distraction on my finger to help me through it! Then, just as it all began, we celebrated our engagement over queso and margs at a local Mexican restaurant. #FullCircleMoment ♡

After ten incredible years together, Luke and I will be married amongst the mountains of Bailey, Colorado in a small private ceremony. June 10th holds a special place in our hearts as it is also the wedding anniversary of my grandparents, Jim and Mary Rose Bounds, who are no longer with us. We have chosen to keep this day intimate and simple surrounded by our loving families. We'll exchange vows at a beautiful mountain home with 180-degree views of the Front Range Mountains surrounded by beautiful pine trees and wildflowers, and the fresh mountain air at 7,740 feet above sea level. We know this day will be nothing short of a dream come true and we couldn't imagine a more romantic and true way to start the next chapter of our lives as Mr. & Mrs. Parks.

We CAN NOT WAIT to celebrate our marriage with you! A wedding is not complete without family and friends there to celebrate. We will be hosting our wedding celebration on Saturday, June 18th, 2022 in Huntingburg, Indiana at Market Street Park, nestled right downtown amongst the many boutiques, bars, and restaurants. Come hang out with us newlyweds, have a few drinks, and soak in all the love. This will be a casual reception with live music, appetizers, and a good ole fashion open bar! We love you all so much and look forward to reintroducing ourselves as husband and wife! #TilDeathDoUsParks