It all started freshmen year of high school... Madi was the new girl at school, and a great group of friends welcomed her with open arms. Ray just so happened to be a part of that group and ended up asking her to their very first homecoming together. After homecoming, they knew they had feelings for one another, but never did anything about it; instead, they became best friends. At the beginning of Junior year, Ray confessed his feelings, and long story short... here we are!

Following Ray and Madi’s high school graduation in 2014, they began their long distance relationship phase. Ray traveled to New York to attend The United States Military Academy at West Point, and Madi traveled to Salt Lake City to play soccer at the University of Utah. Despite being over 2,100 miles apart and having to deal with a two hour time difference, Ray and Madi could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel with Ray’s approaching graduation. Ray knew that both his family and Madi’s family would be together throughout the entire graduation weekend, and Ray felt that this would be the perfect time to propose to Madi and begin planning the rest of their lives together. The day after Ray’s graduation, Ray’s Aunt and Uncle hosted a graduation lunch for both families to attend at their house in New Jersey. At the end of the get together, Ray began urging both families that they had to leave in order to avoid being late to their dinner reservation in Hoboken, New Jersey. After arriving at Hoboken, there was some extra time before the dinner reservation, so Ray suggested that everyone walk out on the pier in order to capture the great view of the New York City skyline. While walking out onto the pier, Ray and Madi were at the front of the group while the both families began slowing down in order to prepare their cameras. Upon reaching the end of the pier, Ray got down on one knee and proposed to his long time girlfriend in front of his closest friends and family.