We are so excited to share our special day with you!

Abbey's perspective: We met first day of Bible conference my Freshman year. Our RAs each arranged for our halls to meet since we were going to be a bro-sis hall that year. All the guys walked over from Brock and meet us in the Willetts parking lot. When we were in a circle introducing ourselves Mark was acting goofy, so my first impression of him, was that he was a crazy weirdo. We walked to chapel and I ended up sitting in the middle of a row with Amber to my right, and Mark on her other side. Mark was asking us a bunch of questions and only Amber was talking because I couldn't talk and was anti-social. Mark's perspective: I met Abbey my Sophomore year at Bible conference. We walked over as a hall, and I was having a fun times hanging with the boiz. I don't really remember seeing/meeting Abbey during the introduction time as she was extremely quiet. Walking over, I started talking to her friend Amber, as she was halfway normal, and a few of the guys. Once we got seated down, I was talking and getting to know the people around me asking them questions; however, there was one girl, who wouldn't answer a single question with a word other than "good, yes, no, or I don't know". She was kind of cute though, so I kept on trying, and at the end of the night I hit the jackpot. I told her "have a good night", and she said "You too". That quiet cute girl was Abbey by the way.

Abbey's Perspective: The weekend before the engagement, I had finished a debate tournament when Mark called and asked if I wanted to go on a date the next week. We were planning on going for a hike and getting ice cream afterward. I had a dream that night that, on the hike, Mark proposed. So the rest of the week leading up to that day, I was freaking out. It didn't help either, that Mark changed our date from hiking and ice cream to a steakhouse and garden. Then I felt my dream might become a reality that weekend. Mark picked me up in his car and we drove to the gardens. We were walking around, and Mark was being really weird (weirder than he normally is). He was pulling me around, making me go down certain paths, and he was pointing at random things and picking leaves off the bushes. After pulling me around the gardens for a few more minutes. Mark led me down a little brick path and I'm pretty sure I almost walked right over the proposal set up. Mark had to grab my arm and tell me to stop. Then I realized what was in front of me, and I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. I turned to Mark as he was getting down on one knee, and I started freaking out even more. I was in such shock that I don't remember what Mark said and I don't even know if I actually said the word yes. I just remember nodding my head, and Mark saying, "Is that a yes?" When Mark put the ring on my finger, I heard someone yelling off to the side, "Did she say yes?!", and there is Josh and Johnny lying in the grass. We took some pictures and then we went over to the Spaghetti Warehouse and Mark's parents were there, and my family showed up later and surprised me. We had a good dinner and my mom brought her chocolate cake for dessert.

The engagement had been in the works for awhile. I talked to Jonny one of the guys in my hall and asked him to be our photographer. I was planning on doing it at a park over in the Beavercreek area; however, when Jonny and Abby (who was working with him) went over and checked it out a week before hand, they found out that it wouldn't work. We then had to go to our backup option which was a botanical garden in downtown Dayton. The hardest part was getting Abbey to dress up somewhat nicely, but not extremely fancy. 2 or 3 days before the engagement was when I really started to freak out. I had no idea what I was going to say, and I had no idea how I was going to manage to get her to the predetermined spot. We drove over in my car. I made sure we were listening to country music the whole time over, that way she would be singing along, and I wouldn't have to talk to her. When we arrived a terror clock started ticking in my head. A countdown of when the inevitable would happen and I would have to propose. As I got out of the car I grabbed her hand, and we started walking down the path. While we were walking it felt like I was dragging Abbey along on a leash, babbling incomprehensible sentences (usually, I can get out at least 2 or 3) to make sure she stayed occupied. My brain was mush and I was freaking out over every tiny detail like how right as we were about to round the corner, another group was like 7.32 feet behind us and could ruin the moment. When I got down on one knee I started to talk. My brain was on two different paths, one trying to form perfect and unplanned words for Abbey, and the other making sure I was down on my knee for at least 3 - 4 seconds that way Jonny could get pictures. (He made sure to rail that into me before hand.) I don't remember what I said or what happened in those 10 seconds, but when I got up my knees were jiggly like jello. After that we had a blast, and everything was back to normal Mark brain.