Lucas and Mary met while in middle school, about 15 years ago actually… Mary was best friends with Lucas’ sister, Chelsea, and at the time, he was just the annoying brother of a childhood friend. Fast forward many years to 2019, Mary, who had recently graduated college, moved into her own little, one-bedroom apartment in Concord, NC. Come to find out, Chelsea had just moved into the same apartment complex! As Mary and Chelsea rekindled their friendship, Lucas and Mary began forming one of their own. When the pandemic was in full swing and the world was shut down, the young friend group spent many days and nights having fun and making memories, and little did Mary know, Lucas had fallen head over heels. On May 16, 2020, the group went on a camping trip in the Uwharrie Forest. On this night, Lucas finally told Mary how he felt… behind a tree. Mary was completely caught off guard, and told Lucas she needed some time to see if she felt the same way. Well that didn’t take long because just a week or two later, she was smitten and they quickly fell in love. Lucas and Mary knew early on in the relationship that they had a forever kind of love. On Christmas Eve of 2021, Mary took Lucas into the garage of their new home to give him an early Christmas gift, a gun safe. In true Lucas fashion, he had to one up her, so he left her in the garage while he went to get a present for her. Mary, like the hopeless romantic she is, had one hand covering her eyes because she wanted to be surprised. All of a sudden, she felt Lucas grab her other hand. When Mary opened her eyes, he was on one knee, telling her how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. It was perfect. We thank God everyday for giving us each other to love!