WE'RE GETTing Married!

Hayden and I met on my third day at GCU. I had just moved to Arizona, knowing only a handful of people, and starting in the second semester already felt daunting. Thankfully, Abby Coey made everything easier, and she’s the one who introduced me to my future husband. That night, Abby insisted on walking me past the sand volleyball courts because “I had to meet everyone!” That’s when Hayden approached me with his friend IB and said, “I know someone who looks like a Walmart version of you.” I blushed instantly. Now that I know Hayden, it’s no surprise as he often speaks before thinking. But he left an impression, and every time I saw him afterward, I found myself wanting to know more. Fast forward to the end of our freshman year. Abby (once again!) invited us to stay with her family before we all headed home for the summer, and Hayden was also invited. We spent the evening talking and laughing more than we ever had, and I left the next morning wishing I didn’t have to go back to California. Later that summer, Hayden finally asked for my number...and then waited a month to text me. By August, we knew we’d be seeing each other at Cedar Point in Ohio, and we started talking more, realizing we both wanted something beyond friendship. Once we were back at school, Hayden, Garrett Borgman, and I hung out every single day. But it was always Hayden who walked me back to my dorm each night, soaking in every moment we could get. In October, he FINALLY asked me on our first date… and three years later, he asked me to be his wife.

I was strolling in front of Canyon Hall, my dorm at GCU, with one of my groomsmen, IB, in January 2022 when I met Hannah. I knew all the friends she was with but went straight to meet the new girl before saying hi to them. I loved her energy and humor. We ran into each other a lot the rest of the semester before leaving for the summer, and those run-ins felt special because of how much fun she was. The day before leaving for summer, we talked the most we ever had. This is where I mentioned, “I probably won't date in college,” which is pretty ironic looking back. We talked a bit over summer, but things really picked up when my best man, Dylan, and our friend Kal, who were there for our conversation before summer and both knew Hannah much better than me, told me Hannah seemed really interested in me when we talked. Soon after this, I got the invite to her Cedar Point trip with friends and family. I knew I had a chance. The trip made me realize Hannah would be more than just a fun friend. The day we left, Dylan heard me listening to Elevation Worship and threw me a lob that Hannah's favorite song was “Dancing.” I remember spending the better part of my drive home memorizing the words to it. Sure enough, when we got back to school, this came in handy. We had just gone to a LANY concert with our friends and were driving home when the song came on. That's still one of my favorite memories together. A couple weeks later, I asked her out to play golf since she had been talking too much smack about it. Then she started talking smack about skiing, so I asked her to be exclusive after skiing together for the first time in Flagstaff. Hannah and I have grown much closer to each other and to the Lord over the last 3 years. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have asked her to marry me in October 2025 in Malibu. But I did, and thankfully she said yes.