Jake and Melissa met through mutual friends on a Saturday night in August of 2016 at the beginning of their senior year at the University of Arkansas. After initially meeting, Jake slid into Melissa’s Instagram DMs and soon sparked their relationship. After spending time together, they realized there had been constant opportunities throughout college where they could have met, but instead kept barely missing each other. Dating officially began in December of 2016 and they spent the remainder of their senior year taking every chance they could to be together.

Now living in Dallas, they have continued to grow closer over the years since first meeting. Jake had known for a long time that Melissa was the one for him, therefore he wanted to propose in a manner that was special to her. Jake’s initial intent was to propose in April 2020, but due to the pandemic, it wasn’t until August that he could pop the question. Lakeside Park was always one of Melissa’s favorite places in her hometown when she was growing up, therefore Jake decided to make this the scene for their engagement. He spent the day entertaining her around town before settling at the park for an afternoon picnic together. They got engaged that afternoon and spent the evening having an engagement party with family and close friends. The couple is very excited to tie the knot in Fayetteville, where they first met and sparked their relationship.