September 12th, 2026

Collin and I's story began a lot earlier than most people know. We first connected back in the spring of 2018 when we were just seniors in high school. I grew up in the small town of Waconia, MN and Collin in Lakeville, MN. All I knew about Lakeville at that time was that it's a city that I have visited scarcely and that there was a 6'3, very cute boy from there who was going to the same college as me to play baseball. Collin and I would snapchat throughout high school leading up to when we left for college in August of 2018. I remember one of my best friends Chloe saying to me before leaving, "I bet you and Collin Denk date in college." I thought that was crazy considering I had never even met this boy before. Safe to say Chloe was in fact, correct. We officially met that first night of college when Collin knocked on my dorm room door to invite me to a baseball party. I can confirm he was even cuter in person and even taller than I'd imagined. Our story truly began that second semester of our freshman year. After casual talking from time to time, Collin finally asked me out on our first real date together. We were both a bucket of nerves but equally excited. Collin took me to Mom & Pop's ice cream and we drove around for hours afterwards laughing and learning about each other's lives. That was the first night I heard his laugh which gave me more butterflies than I knew existed. Collin has the type of laugh that is so organic that it makes you realize how real a moment really is. To this day, his laugh is still my favorite sound and I get that same rush of happiness I did 6 years ago. We started dating that June of 2019 after our first year of college came to an end. Collin spent a little time in Pierre, SD for baseball but ended up returning home early for the summer due to getting sick. Lucky for me, I got him all summer long and if you have ever heard the song "19 You + Me" by Dan and Shay - this is how I think of our first summer together. We made countless memories and I will always remember that summer of us being young, reckless, and on the edge of love. We spent every year after together through our college careers. Growing and learning together through those 4 years at Mankato. We made so many memories with each other, our friends, and our families that we will forever cherish as our story leads on. We traveled together, went to Collin's baseball games, went through the pandemic together, watched my two beautiful nephews come into this world and so much more. We both graduated in the spring of 2022 after Collin made the tough choice to not pursue another year of baseball. That year we decided to start our careers and jump into the next stage of life together. After taking a year to save up and get on our feet, we eventually moved into our first apartment together in 2023. Living with another human teaches you a lot about both yourself and one another. I think we grew up the most those first few years after college. We learned how to take care of a space together, manage finances, manage free time. We learned how to cook together and how to be a team. We learned that Madison is not allowed to dry the clothes because she has shrunk one too many of Collin's T-shirts :) Nonetheless, it brought us closer together than ever before. Love is not the loud moments but the small quiet ones that are unseen from the rest of the world. The moments that only we are able to experience because they are our moments to treasure. One of my favorite quiet moments includes a Chargers game on the TV for Collin and a new book in my lap. Two lovers simultaneously existing in the quiet and enjoying their favorite things together. In the fall of 2024, Collin Denk asked me to marry him. I quite literally put both of my hands in the air and jumped all while screaming "YES!" This is a small glimpse of the story that made us one and is still just the beginning of our love for a lifetime. With love, The Future Denks <3