New date.. We’re Just Rolling With It!

Our story starts somewhere around fifteen years ago. To say that either of us remember the exact day or time that we met would be a stretch.. but we do know that we became friends quickly after meeting! We went to the same middle school, jr. high school and high school, and remained close friends through all of those *extremely awkward* phases of life. In 7th grade we ‘dated’ for about a month. One of our favorite stories from this time took place at my parent’s house. We were hanging out with a few friends and Weston kept hinting at Kyle to pull the old ’stretching and yawning’ trick to put his arm around me.. What a move. But, Kyle was a little too shy to do it and totally blew his cool by saying to Weston (Kyle’s Best Man), “but I’m not even tired.” Moving onto our freshman year of high school, Kyle asked me out again. To this day, I’m really not sure why I said no.. I guess he just knew that this was something special before I even did! But, we were able to push any awkwardness aside and remain good friends. Four years later, we graduated from high school. I went off to college and he served our country as a United States Marine. During those next four years, we saw each other when he got the chance to come home, texted each other regularly, and celebrated each others victories from miles away. A friend and I even made a trip down to the Carolinas to see him when he returned to the U.S. from his second deployment in early 2016. In August of 2016, Kyle was back home starting his first semester of college and I was starting my first “big-girl” job. We spent a lot of time together between the Summer of 2016 and 2017 exploring Columbus with our friends. Then, in August of 2017 the timing finally lined up. We were out with some friends when I pulled Kyle aside and told him how I felt. We started dating two days later and the rest is history!

The engagement planning process started pretty much right when we started dating. I knew for a fact that Jennie was the one for me and I had a million ideas of how I would propose during the few years we dated. Finally, in the Spring of 2019, the stars aligned and I bought the ring! After receiving her dad's blessing, I hit the ground running to make it happen as soon as I could. I was determined to keep this a secret from her, but I knew it wouldn't be easy. Luckily, I had a ton of help from both of our families and friends planning the proposal, and they were able to keep it a secret form her! The only slip came from the jewelers, who 'overnighted' me some paperwork.. two weeks after I had picked up the ring, I was working on the day that the envelope arrived, so Jennie saw it in the mail that day. The envelope had a big jewelers stamp on the front of it, so there was no way she wasn't suspecting. But, I brushed it off and figured I could at least surprise her with the timing. We pre-planned a little kayaking/fishing date to a local lake for June 7th.. little did she know, we wouldn't just be fishing. We left mid-afternoon for the lake, and our family and friends then headed to our house to set up for the surprise engagement party. We spent most of our time fishing on one side of the lake, as two of our friends were setting up the picnic proposal area on the other side. Once I got the All Clear from our friends, Jennie and I kayaked to the other side of the lake to stop at the beach for a 'short break.' When we pulled up to the beach, we got out of our kayaks and walked to the picnic area. I got down on one knee and she said yes!! She was so excited and wanted to celebrate with all our family/friends at a local bar in town. She had NO idea that everyone was already waiting for us at our house to surprise her. I wish I had a picture of her face when we turned onto our street and she saw everyone there. Priceless! It was the best day of our lives! So far..

Many of you know that we have a love for the outdoors and a seemingly constant yearning to travel. We were initially planned to be married in an intimate ceremony surrounded by our immediate families in Mt. Rainier National Park near Seattle, Washington on May 25th. However, due to COVID, our plans have shifted and we will now be married in a small ceremony in the Hocking Hills area. While we wish everyone could experience this magical day alongside us, we are SO overjoyed and elated to get to celebrate with all of you at our home in August!

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, our reception had been rescheduled to take place at our small farm in Pataskala, Ohio on August 1st. We are looking forward to a night spent celebrating and having the time of our lives with all of YOU! Attire: Casual! Guys, a pair of pants/shorts with a polo or button up // Girls, a sundress, cute romper, etc!