Hey Everyone! Makenna here, I am so excited to tell you the story of how Jake and I met, and fell in love. When I moved to Raleigh in early spring of 2023, I had a feeling this was going to be somewhere I would grow to love. I had no idea how quickly Jake would be introduced into my life, and make Raleigh home. Jake and I met just a couple weeks after I moved to Raleigh, we went on our first date February 28th, 2023. Jake picked me up for our first date (which I usually never allowed) and I was impressed that he had planned the whole night for us. We started at Indian food where we talked, and I learned about Jakes family, his love of his sister Rachel and her partner Shelby, I learned that his Grandpa (Pop) was a long time scouter and that Jake himself was an eagle scout. He made me laugh when he took his eagle scout card out of his wallet to prove it. Right off the bat- Jake was thoughtful, earnest, and incredibly kind. Jake loved that I was highly competitive when we made it to Axe Throwing like my mother can talk some good smack, and Jake really loved how that made us feel like fast friends. In July of 2023 we made things official, and it was so easy, and fun, and so full of kindness and compassion for each other. In 2024 we enjoyed my first trip to the ER together, where Jake was ready with Zombie dice and jimmy johns for dinner. Aside from managing a myriad of migraines that often slowed me down throughout that year we enjoyed many dinner dates to Mezcalitos, concerts, two trips to the NC beaches, hockey games, long walks at the Raleigh Art Museum, my first trip to the NC State Fair and every time we got to spend time together it was like coming home. 2025 was an incredibly memorable year with a lot of travel we went to Las Vegas in April, Mexico in August, and celebrated Rachel and Shelby’s wedding in Charleston in October. Jake started a new job as a Supervisor at Lowes, and in between many hours of overtime, our many escapades across the country, and managing our flourishing social lives Jake still managed to fit in hours rough housing with Gus. Our 2025 concluded with a fantastic surprise engagement, Jake pulled the surprise off without a hitch, proposing at the Cary, NC Chinese Lantern Festival. We are thrilled to celebrate the life and the love we have built together with each of you, we know it is a once in a lifetime chance to bring together everyone we love and celebrate all of the experiences that led us to each other. We are grateful for everyone who has supported us, encouraged us, and we could not be more thrilled to celebrate with all of you this fall.