We're getting married!

Our love story began in a manner similar to many other romance-seeking young adults- the internet. We matched on Bumble and had our first conversation on May 10th , 2016. Jon had just finished his first year at North Carolina State University pursuing his PhD in Statistics while I was living in Durham and working in community mental health. We chatted for a week or so until, as Jon likes to put it, I “ghosted” him for almost one month while I was visiting my friend in California and attending a music festival. After I returned, I checked Bumble and responded to Jon’s messages, and from there we scheduled our first date. Our first date was on June 9th, 2016 at a burger joint in Durham. We got to know each other over beers and burgers, talking about family, school, and life plans. Jon was cramming for the Basic at that time while I was trying to decide if I wanted to take break from teaching barre classes. In an attempt to be a modern woman and share the dinner bill, I (accidentally) ended up paying for the whole thing. Jon was very impressed with this independent woman move, and I was impressed with how comfortable he seemed to be in his own skin. He was self-assured, confident, and genuine. After our first date, we had three more dates in the following ten days. Three weeks later, Jon and asked me to be his girlfriend.

Jon and I moved into our first apartment together in Raleigh on June 1st , 2017. Eight months later, on March 3rd, 2018, Jon suggested we go hiking together. I noticed that Jon had changed his shirt a few times before we left, but besides that I didn't know what was yet to come. He brought me to William B. Umstead State Park to go hiking when we “ran into” our friends Khaled and Teresa, both of whom were carrying cameras. It was a warm and sunny afternoon, and I still had no idea what was going on. Teresa suggested getting a photo of the two of us in front of the lake, and I found it odd that our friends weren’t getting into the picture with us. When I looked over at Jon, he had already dropped down to one knee to ask me to marry him. The day we got engaged was easily the happiest day of our lives. We are both so excited to celebrate with you all at our wedding and top our best day ever!