We met during our freshman year of high school in Spanish class. It was there that we began to build a friendship built on endless laughter and wide smiles. Over the next couple of years, we had a few more classes together, where our friendship slowly grew. It wasn’t until our senior year of high school that we began spending time with each other outside of school. We found ourselves in the same social group, and most weekends were spent with one another and our close group of friends. On New Year’s Eve of 2019, we shared our first kiss at midnight. It wasn’t planned, it wasn’t expected, but a spark was indeed ignited. After a brief season of romance, we decided it was best to remain friends—at least for the time being. Fast forward one year, and we found ourselves both as freshmen at Arizona State University, living on the same floor of the same apartment building, just 10 doors down the hall. (Sue—Noelle’s mom—still claims to this day that it had to have been a part of Mark’s plan to win Noelle over. We’ll let you decide for yourselves.) It was the spring of 2020 when we received word that, due to the pandemic, our college classes would continue strictly online. Translation: have fun, party, and do whatever you want until we figure this thing out… at least that’s the interpretation we decided to go with. So we did. We got back together with our friends from high school, we went camping, we had pool parties, we spent nights driving around town looking for trouble to get into. It was nothing short of a blast! It was during this time that our feelings for each other began to resurface and, more importantly, grow. It became obvious to our friends around us that there was chemistry, and we began to hear the words, “When are you guys gonna get together already?” So… we did. Mark asked Noelle to be his girlfriend on June 20, 2020, and it was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Since then, we have graduated from college, started careers, traveled, built new friendships, maintained old ones, started going back to church, and have grown in our relationship with God and each other. We have faced many joyful times and many challenges in the six years we have been together. Our faith in Jesus and our love for each other have made our relationship so incredibly strong. We got engaged on December 26, 2025, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and are so looking forward to the celebration of our marriage on October 29, 2026. We are excited to celebrate with all of you—our dearest friends and family who are so very important to us. Cheers, and we will see you then!