Our story actually begins in chemistry class junior year of high school. Julie was more quiet and reserved while Derek was the opposite; he was there to make jokes and hang out with friends. As time went on, we began to talk and get to know each other more and more. Before we knew it prom was a month away and we finally ended up going on our first date together at Noodles and Co. To Julie it was just a first date, but to Derek it was also the time he was going to ask Julie to Prom. He picked her up, opened the door for her, and sitting on the seat was a bag of Lifesaver candies that had a note on it that said “will you be a lifesaver and go to prom with me?” Julie said yes, they went to prom together, and continued to grow closer and learn more about each other. We didn’t make it “official” for some time, but as junior year came to an end Derek asked Julie to be his girlfriend one summer night, and of course her answer was "yes" - 6/11/2015. From there, life never seized to slow down. We graduated high school, made the decision of going into the workforce vs. attending college, adopted an amazing “black lab” (so we were told) that we named Riley, and bought a house in Lodi together. These decisions were huge life milestones in our lives but we both were pretty quick to decide on them. Proposing, however, was not exactly a quick process for Derek to do. After 8 amazing years he finally worked up the courage and while everyone was saying what they where grateful for on Thanksgiving Day, he expressed his gratefulness for Julie, got down one knee, and asked her to marry him. In shock that it was finally happening, Julie quickly said YES! Throughout the past 9 years, we have gone through lots of good and lots of bad together and have been able to grow immensely individually and together. Our favorite things to do are: hiking with Riley, spending time with friends and family, going on spontaneous trips, and trying to tackle house projects together that are more often than not over our heads. We are so grateful for everyone that is in our lives and cannot wait to spend our special day with you all. 🤍