John and Alicia’s love story started at the University of Michigan. They first met at a fellowship event while pledging for their community service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega. On their first date they went to Cottage Inn Pizza; where they spent 3 hours chatting before XO the restaurant closed for the night. John was smitten by Alicia, and officially asked her to be his girlfriend on April 15th, 2016. John and Alicia’s early relationship was built on study dates, tailgates, and volunteering. In the summers, they would frequently drive between Naperville and Plainwell to visit each other. When John and Alicia both graduated, they were able to fulfill their dream of traveling together. They spent 2 weeks in Spain and Portugal where John could feature his poor Spanish and Alicia could enjoy the tapas. Shortly after returning from Europe, Alicia moved in with John in Kalamazoo. And soon after starting their lives together, they decided to get their beloved dog, Arbor. Luckily for them, these early days offered many opportunities to discuss expectations for cohabitating. In 2020, John and Alicia decided to move to Grand Rapids to be in a larger city and closer to Alicia's work. They quickly fell in love with their new city, and purchased their first home in 2021. They enjoyed the wonders of being homeowners, and have completed several large projects together. John and Alicia spend their days hanging with friends, building their careers, and going on frequent date nights. You will often find them running Arbor around their neighborhood, walking home with a pizza, or taking electric scooters downtown. John and Alicia are eager to start their lives as a married couple. They have been together for seven wonderful years and are looking forward to many more. September 23rd will be a day to celebrate their love for each other and look forward to their bright future together.

John proposed to Alicia on a rainy day in Seattle on May 5th, 2022. They were on a long weekend trip to explore the city with their good friends, Chris and Nikki. John had created a plan to propose and scoped out the Kubota garden ahead of time. The Kubota Garden is a 20-acre Japanese garden just outside of Seattle. John and Alicia arrived at the Kubota garden in the early morning to meet their friends. To her confusion, Chris and Nikki did not wait for them and were far into the garden. When asked, Chris and Nikki told them they were in the back by "some bridge". John and Alicia then entered the garden to try and find their friends. During the search, John lead Alicia down several wrong turns and stopped at many landmarks along the way. Alicia knew they were going the wrong way, but reluctantly followed John who was holding the map. Upon seeing the small opening for the moon bridge, John asked Alicia to hold onto her coffee cup. Alicia did not want to share her coffee, but after some convincing handed it over. John then immediately set the cup down on the ground, which confused Alicia. Before stepping on the bridge, Alicia spotted Nikki through a nearby clearing smiling, ready to take a picture. Alicia realized then what was happening. John then said "Come on, get on the bridge" and lead Alicia to the top. He then got down on one knee and proposed. This moment was a blur for John, but he has been told he said some good things. John used two hands to put the ring on Alicia's finger; as it was rainy and was afraid he was going to drop it. When John finished proposing, Nikki and Chris popped out from the spot they were taking photos to congratulate John and Alicia. Then to a great surprise for Alicia, Elaine stepped out as well. Elaine, Alicia's sister, had travelled from California to be a part of the surprise. Alicia was handed a big bouquet of flowers and a bottle of champagne was opened to celebrate.