Our love story began when we were both sixteen years old and attending a Baton Rouge Cotillion dance at the Cane’s River Center downtown on December 7th, 2019. I had been dancing and hanging out with my friends for the majority of the dance, but I decided on a whim to explore the dance floor. After weaving through the packed room, I ran into the older brother of one of my good friends, and he asked me why I was by myself and where my group of friends were. I told him I was lost, and he offered to introduce me to his friends. He led me to the opposite side of the room, and once we got to where his friends were, he started to introduce me to everyone. The second I laid eyes on Collin, I had the most profound feeling of peace and comfort wash over me, and it felt like I was being reunited with someone I had known my entire life. The moment we started talking, it felt like time stood still and it was just the two of us in the room. Before the dance ended, I boldly asked Collin for his phone number, and we immediately started texting and planning our first date to see each other in person at our local library. Two weeks after we met, on December 20th, 2019, Collin asked me to be his girlfriend at a friend’s Christmas party, and two weeks after we started dating, we said I love you in his parked truck on a rainy night. Although the beginning of our relationship was fast-moving, we’ve since spent the last 6 ½ years growing through every season of life by each other’s side. Between birthdays, holidays, vacations, graduations, and all of life’s most special moments, our relationship is the greatest blessing of my life and I am the happiest version of myself when I’m with Collin. On April 10th, 2026, Collin drove us to Afton Villa Gardens in St. Francisville for “family photos,” but instead got down on one knee under the mossy trees and asked me to spend the rest of our lives together. The entire day felt like a dream come true – we celebrated and had dinner with our parents, reminiscing on how much our highschool selves dreamt of this moment, and talked endlessly about our excitement for our life together. We thank God everyday for placing us in each other’s lives at the exact moment that He did and for granting us the gift of getting to grow up together. We are so excited to tie the knot on April 10th, 2027, (a year to the day of us getting engaged!) and spend the day celebrating our love and story with our closest friends and family!!! We love y’all so much!!!