"Payton and I first ran into each other in seventh grade - literally. We both played for KVSA's girls and boys competitive soccer teams, and one evening our teams scrimmaged each other. That night, I played goalie (not my normal position) while Payton played forward, and at one point a 50/50 ball was played between us. Being the fierce competitors each of us are, we both aggressively went after the ball and collided. For the record, neither of us were injured, but I remember being properly chided by my teammates for not trying to avoid the smallest girl on the field during a scrimmage." - Noel "Since we didn't go to the same junior high, our paths didn't cross for another few years (sparing each other from witnessing our respective awkward phases). Fortunately, we both started at Lawrence High together where I started to become friends with a lot of Noel's friends from junior high (shout out to Alyssa & Maddie). The first time we ever talked was at Battle of the Bands. Fast forward to the following summer, when we met up with Alex Axlund and Simon Fangman for dinner at Jade Garden, followed by a viewing of "The Amityville Horror" at Alex's house. Through a series of not-so-subtle flirts, awkward Facebook wall posts, and spontaneous trips to Stull Cemetery (place of love, am i right?) later, our relationship grew." - Payton

"At this point in my life, I was a well-established Harry Potter super-fan. While I obviously had feelings for Payton, I wasn't willing to making anything official until we watched a Harry Potter movie together. The night in question was LHS's inaugural pink-out football game, and Payton and I met up at my parent's house afterwards and watched the first movie together. The movie ended shortly after midnight, I walked Payton out to her car and asked her if she would be my girlfriend. She initially answered 'no,' but quickly laughed and said 'of course.'"- Noel

"Nine years is difficult to summarize in a couple of sentences. We graduated high school and made the difficult decision to go to two separate colleges (a long eight hour drive from one another). Despite the distance, we always found time for one another whether or not it was at a Bruno Mars concert in Indianapolis, formals in Gatlinburg, a NYE trip to New Orleans, among many other adventures. After four long years separated by distance, we both moved to Kansas City where we spent two years falling further in love with each other along with the city. Two years flew by, and we moved to Columbia where Noel is attending law school, I am working for Mizzou, and we are both trying to keep sane as we live with our new pup, Olive." - Payton

"I got home from work on what I thought was a normal Friday afternoon to find my grandpa sitting at my house. He told me that he was going to drive me to Kansas City where I was to meet Noel. I went into my room to find a dress, packed bag, note, flowers and chocolates. (Me being me) I quickly went through my closet to find another dress for the occasion. I grabbed my stuff, and off to KC my grandpa and I went. For what seemed like the longest two hours of my life, we arrived in KC (after a couple of wrong turns) to find Noel sitting at the corner by JC Nichols Fountain. I got out of the car and he popped the question! We then travelled back to Lawrence where we met up with family and friends. " - Payton

Despite the pandemic, on June 13, 2020, we shared the greatest day of our lives. While it was difficult to do so without many of our friends and family, we made the most of the circumstances. We were married at Redemptorist Church and held a small gathering with our families shortly after. It was an incredibly special and memorable weekend, and we cannot wait to fully celebrate with everyone in October 2021!