We're getting married!

Growing up, Mercedes always shared a warm smile with everyone she crossed paths with. This was no different when she recognized Braden walking through campus at IU Bloomington during her freshman year. The two met at a mutual friend’s summer party in 2014. Mercedes appreciated seeing a friendly familiar face amongst 40,000 Hoosier students. Leaving her dorm every day, she passed Braden with a smile & wave. So often, that Braden asked his friends if they knew the “weird girl that always waves.” They quickly remembered who she was. The following fall, Sadie ran into Braden again and invited him to a Veritas Forum hosted by her campus ministry. Remembering Braden enjoyed intellectual conversation, she thought he’d enjoy an event around religion & academics. Braden kindly agreed. After the event, they decided to go to dinner at Buffa Louie’s and continued talking for hours about religion, spirituality, aliens, dinos, space, astrology- you name it! Little did they know this sparked a lifelong friendship. Fast forward to March 2017, Mercedes’s Mom visited for Sigma Kappa Mom’s weekend. She was so excited to introduce her to her dorm residents, do crafts with her sorority sisters, and to meet her new boyfriend Braden. He was so kind, welcoming, and enthusiastic to meet Bambi. The three had a blast out on the town! Over the next year, the couple explored many relationship milestones- Braden driving Mercedes to the doctor when she was sick, Mercedes getting Braden to like coffee, attending each others events and activities, dating long distance, and their first vacation together. Spring break of 2018, they visited Myrtle Beach with Danny & Joey. The group made the most of their time together in the 45 degree rainy weather and supporting Joey through his homesickness of missing his new girlfriend (shoutout to Christine!). By summer of 2018, Mercedes got a full time job in Indy and had no where to live. The Kriech’s kindly invited her to move in and treated her as one of their own. About a year later, the couple moved out on their own. Two apartments and one inherited house later, the couple now live in Irvington and are working to make this house their home. In these 8 years together, Mercedes and Braden have experienced countless core memories, grown individually & together, and built up a long list of shared dreams to look forward to. Finally, in January 2024, one of those dreams came true. Braden was in charge of planning the couple’s next vacation and picked a resort in Playa Del Carmen - a special place in Mercedes’s life where she spent time after mission trips to nearby villages. Specifically, Mercedes remembers loving one restaurant on the beach, Zenzi. Braden had a plan to take her on a date there and propose. Upon arriving to their room, the two were counting their cash and she felt they didn’t have enough money to go into town that week. Braden reluctantly agreed and scrambled to create a backup plan. The next night while getting ready for dinner, Mercedes was feeling cute and wanted some photos on the balcony. Braden couldn’t keep his eye off her, making a note of how they matched. He said “you know what’s better than matching with your girlfriend? Matching with your fiancée.” Mercedes turned around to him down on one knee with the ring box upside down. Braden was so nervous as she giggled through tears, fixed the box, and said yes. The two spent the next few moments in awe as Braden recounted everything that lead to this day. They celebrated with sushi & karaoke, of course! The rest is history! We’re so excited to celebrate this monumental moment in our lives with all our closest friends and family. See you in October!