by Elizabeth • I remember coming across Will's profile several times on a dating app and always investigating it thoroughly but being too shy to start a conversation. (Bumble, the said dating app, requires the girl to message the guy first.) When it did finally happen (thank goodness!), Will's first message to me was a Lord of the Rings meme (see the photos page for the screenshot 😁), and I knew things were going to go well from there. We met for the first time on a Tuesday evening and talked so long that the restaurant had to kick us out at closing, and it was the day that everything changed. I'll always remember walking into the restaurant and seeing him at the bar, and wondering what this date held. I also remember several weeks later, after being somewhat inseparable, telling my best friend (and now maid of honor) that I was pretty sure I was going to marry Will. I've never been so confident in anything as I am in my love for Will, his for me, and our relationship.

by Will • When proposing to someone as kind, elegant, and adventurous as Elizabeth, I knew that I wanted to ask her in a manner that left no doubt that my love for her is epic. On a cool morning on Maui, around 3AM, I packed a small wooden box containing the ring into my backpack, and we started our several hours-long trip to the peak of Maui's volcano, Haleakala (10,023 ft). Our trip to the peak of the volcano was under the pretense of going to one of the few places where you can view the sun rising below your feet. We hiked up the mountain in pitch blackness and freezing temperatures, and that morning I asked Elizabeth to marry me just as the sun broke over the horizon.

You're not crazy - yes, we are technically already married! We had a tiny courthouse wedding on March 23, 2020, hours before Dallas' lockdown orders went into effect due to the height of COVID. Now that things have settled down a bit, we're so excited to fully celebrate our wedding with our family, friends, and our sweet daughter, Olivia, and hold a formal ceremony in the Catholic Church.