We're so grateful for the love & support of those that will be in attendance. Thank you for choosing to join us for the start of our new beginning!

Payton and I started off as most couples do: friends. Our story begins freshman year of college while attending Anderson University. We had a few run-ins during occasional meals together at the cafeteria or in group activities with friends. A slow start to a new beginning. The following year we participated in regular activities together that included being Resident Assistants for our dorms and doing an internship together at Madison Park Church of God. It is in this beginning stage where we exchanged the early pleasantries of interest where we learned the various hobbies and backstories of each other. In Payton’s words, I was “different from the ‘other guys’” and I found Payton to be an exceptional personality to be around but we still did not spend too much time together. The exchanges we did share were small but marked the start to a great friendship. Since we are both musicians, we naturally started bonding through playing music together during our junior year of college. Our love for music and the passion for our faith in Jesus Christ was a compelling force in our relationship and caused us to start leading worship at churches and at our college campus together more frequently. The values we shared became the foundation on which our relationship was built. It was in mundane moments of traveling in the car together after these extracurriculars that I took more notice of Payton. I noticed her beauty in a way that was more specific to her on a personal level. I started to appreciate the individual attributes of her character that made her so desirable to be around. She was a great listener who gave pragmatic advice, she was incredibly patient and she gave immense forethought before each decision she made or before each new situation she encountered. Her every movement was carefully chosen and every word so carefully articulated.

Senior year of college yielded new obstacles and provided new challenges. Payton and I started leaning on each other more this year for a variety of reasons. Change is a difficult fear to embrace. Over the course of our Senior year, we had developed strong feelings for each other and knew we could rely on each other when things got rough. I, however, was afraid to lose my best friend should I choose to act upon my feelings and tell her about them. Finally, after much internal deliberation and with the guidance of trusted loved ones, I decided to tell her about my feelings and she expressed a welcoming reciprocation. I can remember both of us feeling like a weight was lifted off our shoulders at the realization that we were finally on the same page. The next year produced 12 months of a long distance relationship accompanied by numerous visits between Fort Wayne and Noblesville, countless FaceTime calls and ultimately produced one true desire for us to be with each other. Both of us sought a finality to the long distance so that we might once again share daily subtleties, mutual experiences and the immersion with the other’s presence. It was in July of 2019 that Payton got a job in Carmel and moved back to the greater Indianapolis area! It provided us with a renewed appreciation for our relationship. I had known Payton was the love of my life for quite some time, but after receiving permission from her father and blessing from the Lantz family, I knew it was time to act upon my conviction. I proposed to Payton on November 9, 2019 in Fort Wayne at one of our favorite parks. Our engagement has been an enjoyable time filled with a lot of growing. Payton and I expectantly await September 26, 2020 with eager anticipation.