N & R

Every love story starts somewhere, and ours began the modern way — online, with a simple message from Riley: “Hey there, how are you doing? :)” After that first message, we spent a few weeks messaging back and forth on Hinge before one evening led to a deep and honest conversation about our faith and testimonies. That night, Natalie finally shared her phone number with Riley — and from there, everything changed. A few weeks later, we had our first date at a Mexican restaurant in Littleton and hit it off right away. Even though we lived two hours apart, we didn’t let the distance stand in our way. We started texting all the time, spending hours on phone calls, and quickly became each other’s favorite person. We began scheduling our weekends around each other, taking turns driving and planning halfway meetups as we explored Colorado together. Some of our favorite memories include picnicking at City Park, seeing the Denver Zoo Lights, discovering new coffee shops, going on mountain drives, and most of all, spending time in the charming mountain town of Evergreen. Throughout all of those adventures, we fell deeply in love. In our time together, we’ve already walked through seasons that have strengthened us as a couple. Riley joined the Army Reserves and had the opportunity to travel overseas, and began pursuing a bachelor's degree at the University of Northern Colorado while Natalie launched her dream business and also faced a major surgery at the Mayo Clinic. Through the ups and the downs of the past two years, the Lord has brought us even closer. We learned how to support each other, pray for each other, and learned how to love through challenges. While we often wished we lived closer and could share more everyday moments, the distance helped us grow in communication, patience, and deep, steady love. Just over a year into dating, we both knew we wanted to spend our lives together. After lots of conversations and dreaming about the future, Riley spoke with Natalie’s family and began planning the proposal. On March 1st, 2025, Riley took Natalie back to Evergreen for a coffee date at our favorite spot — Muddy Buck Café. He was nervous and jittery, and Natalie had a strong feeling why... and she was right! A few hours later, as the sun set behind the mountains at the Evergreen Lake House, Riley got down on one knee and asked Natalie to be his wife — a moment met with happy tears and a very enthusiastic YES! We feel so blessed and excited to begin our life together as a couple striving after the Lord. It brings us so much joy to honor and glorify Him for writing this beautiful story. He has been in the midst of every text, every call, every conversation — guiding and blessing us every step of the way. None of this would have happened without Him, and we can’t wait to celebrate the beginning of our marriage on March 15th, 2026 — giving Him all the glory and celebrating with all of you!