Our story begins in the Fall of 2007 at Temple University when the quiet incoming Freshman meets the energetic and outgoing Upperclassman after the first Track & Field team meeting of the year in the bleachers of McGonigle Hall. In just that instance he received a soon-to-be best friend (that'd be me, the bride-to-be) and lifelong little sisters he'd unknowingly be taking under his wing from then on. Where does the love story begin?... For her... That "mmm okay, I think I like you, like you..." moment came when he invited a group of us, teammates, bowling off-campus where he showed off his unique bowling skills (aka being really extra haha!) and magnetic personality. For him... My aha moment came while I was being the good samaritan that I am and chauffeuring (for the umpteenth time) this lovely lady to the train station for Christmas break. This time when dropping her off something went off and I was like I am going to miss her. We remained close friends through the years while creating cherishable memories like making snow angels on the track, going ice skating, going for long runs just us two down to the Philadelphia Art Museum, getting Rita's water ice after practice in the Spring, and the many, many trips of picking up and dropping off his lovely wife-to-be at 30th Street Station whenever she became homesick. Through career and life changes we both decided to take that leap from best friends to become the loves of our lives. The foundation of our relationship is based upon a friendship that has withstood the tests of time, has grown into unshakeable love and is blessed by God. For these, along with many other significant reasons, we cannot wait until the day that we become one. On this day 3.21.21, and every day we are #RunningIntoLove Please join us as we celebrate #BecomingTheStancilsIn321!

It's the day before Thanksgiving and we're preparing for what seems to be a normal travel day for us. We spend Thanksgiving brunch with our college coach and his family each year in Philadelphia before having dinner with family, and this year was no different. We typically go down the day of, but we figured we would make traveling less stressful this year and head down the day before. I promise that I had no clue what was happening until it happened, but Marquise still doesn't believe that I was surprised 'til this day. A little bit of a, hmm, something is going on here moment came to mind when he took me for a "couples treat" where I was pampered with a Mani & Pedi along with champagne. But then I thought, no way he's proposing today because he just asked me if I liked a certain ring a few days ago... Well, little did I know today was the day! Of course, I made us a tad late to the nail appointment which made us a tad late to lunch, and a tad late to the big surprise but yet he loves me still haha! The rest of the plan for the day was to visit our old stomping grounds (Temple Univ.) and see what was new on campus. First stop, of course, the new track! As we approach the track, I'm completely oblivious to what is about to happen. I'm posting to Instagram showing off my Temple HBCU-ish tee. We began to walk around the track, I'm admiring him from afar and sneaking in photos. We snag a pic of me under the sign of the Women's Atlantic 10 Championship win that I was a part of. Then, I tell him that he should run down the track so that I can get him running past the Temple "T", of course for the 'Gram, and it played perfectly into his plan. He ran down the track, pretended to catch a cramp, and fell to the ground while grabbing his leg. I ran after him to help while laughing a little too, not gonna lie haha! He gets on one knee as close family and friends surprisingly pop out from behind the bleachers while he asks me to be his wife! Of course, I said yes!