We're Getting Married!

Sawyer and Laura will be married at St. Cecelia's Catholic Church on the morning of the 19th. The ceremony and reception later in the day will be a repeating of vows celebration.

We first met back in high school during Sawyer’s senior year and Laura’s sophomore year. We were introduced through a mutual friend and just clicked right away. From there, we started hanging out in a group, and before long, we’d become close friends who always found excuses to see each other. Over the next year, our friendship grew stronger and started to turn into something more. Our first date was at Freddy’s in Iowa City on September 25, 2020, where we laughed, shared fries, and probably had no idea how important that night would become. Just a week later, on October 2, 2020, Sawyer officially asked Laura to be his girlfriend. We began our relationship long-distance — Sawyer in Iowa City for college and Laura still at home in Algona. Even though some friendships fade over time, ours only grew stronger. After two years, countless phone calls, and many miles driven back and forth, Laura finally moved to Iowa City to live with her sister. We went from living 219 miles apart to just one city block away, and our relationship only grew deeper. After another two years, Sawyer graduated, and it was time to find a place of our own. We moved in together on August 1, 2024, but something still felt missing — until we brought home Moose, our Australian Shepherd, who has just as much love to give as he does attitude. Life was good, and Sawyer knew it was time to take the next step. He already knew Laura was the one, but he wanted to find the right moment and place to make it official. Thanks to the generosity of his parents, we were gifted a family vacation to Jamaica for Christmas — and Sawyer realized it was the perfect opportunity to propose. After asking for her family’s blessing and picking out the perfect ring, everything was set. But, like any good story, things didn’t go quite according to plan. The boat tour they’d scheduled before dinner was supposed to last three hours, leaving plenty of time to get ready before sunset. Instead, the boat showed up late and ran way longer than expected. As they sat anchored out in front of the resort listening to the crew’s long “thank you” speech and tip requests, Sawyer watched the sun slowly sinking lower — with only an hour to spare and no sign of docking anytime soon. At one point, he even joked about just taking Laura and jumping overboard to swim back to shore if it meant making it in time. Finally, they made it back to land with just 45 minutes left, rushing to get ready and make it down to the beach. And despite all the stress and chaos, it ended up being the perfect night. As the sun set over the ocean, Sawyer got down on one knee and asked Laura to spend forever with him on April 12, 2025. And the rest — well, that’s just the beginning of our forever