We met at Louisiana State University during the second semester of our freshman year of college. We would walk back to our dorms from class together and occasionally go to the dining hall between our dorms with some friends. Eventually, we started to go to date parties together with each others fraternity and sorority. At first it was just fun to attend as many different events as we could, but during our sophomore year of college we had realized how much we really enjoyed spending time together. Come June 2016 we finally decided to call ourselves official (although everybody else seemed to already think we were official anyway). Becoming an "official" couple unknowingly led to the start of us growing up, which really helped us build our relationship on a strong foundation. Within the first year of dating we had to decide to be there for each other through some of life's biggest challenges. We stuck out the curveballs life threw and figured out how to move forward, together. We set goals we wanted to achieve together, and separately, and these goals ended up taking us to start our lives in Dallas. Since continuing our lives in Dallas together, we both pursued and received graduate degrees and then found careers that we both love. We achieved these goals together, and are now more than ready to begin our next chapter as a married couple.

Montauk has always been a special part of Paige's life. For as long as she could remember, her family had gone out to Montauk every summer... and eventually every summer turned into every season. When Dalton went to visit Paige for the first time in New York, it was also the first time he would be meeting Paige's mom, Liz, outside of FaceTime. One of the first things Liz made sure to do was to take us out to Montauk. We had a great day, visiting the lighthouse and showing Dalton our favorite parts of the beach and Montauk town. After Liz passed away, Dalton, Paige's brother, Matthew, and Paige's cousin, Andrew went out to Montauk to celebrate Liz's life and all of the special memories we had with her. Montauk will always hold a special place in our hearts, and will always make us feel connected to Paige's mom. Since then, Dalton and Paige have visited Montauk a couple times and always love their time they spend out there. It has become a place that is near and dear to Dalton's heart as well, so it was only right we have one of the most special events of our lives out here.

On December 21, 2022, at the Seaport piers on the East River in New York City, and with the help of Kelly Rocke, Kathleen Rocke, & Mike Toporek it was finally time for everything to happen. It was our first full day in New York and we decided to spend it in the Financial District of New York City. Kat, Kelly, and Mike asked if Dalton & Paige wanted to have dinner in the city before heading back to Long Island, so we of course were excited to make that plan! We were all getting ready together, and Kat had offered to do Paige's hair (which was nothing out of the ordinary since Kat typically did Paige's hair once or twice every time we were in town). Kelly, Mike, & Dalton decided to "go to the beer garden" down the block since they were all ready... Mike and Dalton came back to get Kat and Paige to rush them to the restaurant because we "were late" while Kelly "ran to CVS" and would be meeting us there. While rushing to dinner, Dalton got a call from Kelly that we no longer needed to rush, and that we actually needed to take our time. Kat & Mike got creative having Paige take pictures of them over & over, and deliberated getting a hot dog. In the background, Kelly was on her own watching the proposal setup and perfecting the final details, but while perfecting those final details the proposal setup had fallen apart. A kind stranger who happened to be one of few people hanging out at Seaport came over to help Kelly. He helped her put the proposal setup back together and secured it. And he also had the wire needed to charge the battery for the neon sign that he let her borrow. Once this was secure, Kelly gave Dalton the ok to keep on moving! She had an agreement with our stranger-friend that when she gave him a thumbs up to take his wire (so it wouldn't be seen in the photos or videos of course - not part of the proposal aesthetic). Paige had started to get suspicious, but before she could process what was happening there were so many happy tears. The moment was absolutely perfect, and our stranger-friend had unplugged his wire before I could even see him. We wish we had a name for our stranger-friend, and honestly wish he had came to be a part of our post proposal celebrations! We joke that he was an angel that was sent to make our proposal happen perfectly (thanks, mom). To this day, we will continue to think that way, and continue to wish him the best! The proposal could not have been more perfect, and we are so thankful for everyone who helped to make it that way. (Special shoutout to Collin Burwinkel for the jeweler recommendation) *Professional photos taken by Heather Martinez Photography*