Mark and Kylie met at Wheaton College's Freshman orientation program on August 13th, 2021. The members and leaders of their cabins got lost in the woods and their leaders told us to find someone from the other cabin and ask them about their favorite flavor. Mark and Kylie began to talk and the conversation about ice cream quickly expanded into a long discussion. They continued to talk throughout the week and even spent some late night talking on the dock while staring up at the stars. The day they returned to Wheaton they journeyed to a small ice cream shop in downtown Wheaton, only to return to Kylie's car which then had a flat tire. Mark was a gentleman and changed it (or at least started until Kylie's dad came by to help out). It was not until a two months later that they went on their first date to the Chicago Botanical Garden and came back to Kylie's house to carve pumpkins with her family. Throughout their Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior years at Wheaton they enjoyed going on many adventures as a couple.

Shortly before the Spring break of their Junior year, Mark began to plot about the details of the proposal. As Mark had gone on a spring break trip to Florida with the cross country team for the past two years and Kylie had already assumed he would be going, Mark found this moment to be the perfect time for the surprise. On Friday March 1st, Kylie watched Mark pack his bag and get into the car to leave for Florida with the rest of the team. Little did she know that he would be dropped off at his apartment only minutes later. The next morning, Kylie had planned to take senior pictures for the boyfriend of Kylie's sister. Little did she know that this was a set up. That Saturday, she took her time taking photos, arriving at the planned destination over an hour past the approximated time. As she walked into the center of Adams Park in downtown Wheaton, she stumbled upon Mark sitting at one of the benches waiting for her. After taking a moment to realize that it was really him sitting there, she realized what was going on. Mark met her by the fountain and led her down the sidewalk that he had lined with photos of them throughout their relationship. He walked her through the photos, to a trellis that he had decorated with yellow roses. It was there that he proposed and she happily said yes!

Mark and Kylie look forward to what the Lord has in store for them in this season of engagement and beyond! They hope you will be able to celebrate alongside them as they enter into this new season of life.