We don't really think of ourselves as high school sweethearts, but technically, we fit the bill! We had classes together, but ran in different social circles. It wasn't until we found ourselves overseas, on a class trip to Germany, that we finally got to know each other. New experiences are exciting and we got to experience a whole lot of newness together as we toured castles and medieval walled cities. Despite our teacher's best efforts at stopping any budding romances under her watch, we gravitated towards each other. Austin even jokingly proposed at Neuschwanstein Castle, where we really hit it off. Now, eight years later, when we tell people that we met in Germany, we sound much more mysterious and cool than we actually are.

The proposal was probably the worst kept secret to ever exist; everyone was in on it- including Michaela. The only people who didn't know were Austin's parents, because it had to be a surprise for someone (Michaela hates surprises). Austin quickly discovered that Michaela's entire family consists of planners. Her parents scouted the perfect location and sent him pictures, he FaceTimed them to talk strategy; how would we distract his parents long enough for him and Katie and Emily to slip away? Katie was on assigned photography duty; she made Austin practice getting on one knee so that she could get the angles right. He nearly fell into a freezing mountain stream doing it, but the pictures did turn out great! When the moment came, it was perfect. He asked, she said yes, they made Austin's mom, Lisa, cry tears of happiness. Everyone said "Finally!"

As our wedding date approaches we want to keep all of our guests safe and healthy. Throughout the pandemic, the state of Missouri has never had any state-wide mandates, instead they have left precautions up to individual counties. Stone County (the location of our venue) is unlikely to issue any mandates regarding masks or limits on gatherings, but we still want you to be safe. We will have hand sanitizer available and if you are unvaccinated and choose to wear a mask we will thank you for your caution. We urge everyone to get the vaccine prior to the event, to better protect yourself and others. We will update here if anything changes. We are so looking forward to seeing you in September! Please feel free to reach out to Vickie Lamb (Mother of the Bride) with any questions.