Tyler will tell you that the first time he saw Bella was in high school when she randomly attended a club meeting at his school. The first thing he noticed about her was her hair. Bella has no recollection of this and claims he can't possibly remember seeing her, but he knows for a fact that this is true. The real way Bella and Tyler met was when they worked at Woodlands Camp in the summer of 2020. Woodlands is Bella's childhood camp and it was her dream to work there, while Tyler applied without ever attending as a camper. Bella and Tyler signed on to work in two completely separate departments, but due to a little virus going around, Tyler's program was cancelled and he moved to Woodland's Xtreme camp. Xtreme also happened to be where Bella was working. The two were moved to a role they were not prepared to fulfill. They worked alongside each other everyday, and bonded over figuring out their job together. Bella instantly felt comfortable around Tyler and their summer friendship was silly and genuine. Unknown to her, Tyler developed a camp crush pretty early on which he hid all summer. Unfortunately, COVID caused camp to end abruptly, and Tyler never had the chance to say anything to Bella...not even goodbye. A couple weeks later, Bella came to camp to volunteer, and Tyler had moved back to Woodlands to start his internship. After Bella left, Tyler realized he still had feelings for her. He called her a couple days later and finally confessed his feelings. Bella said yes to a date, but was still unsure of what she felt. Tyler patiently pursued Bella, and she soon realized that Tyler was pretty dang amazing. After dating for only a few months, Tyler knew he wanted to marry Bella. Again, Bella needed a little more time. And once again, Tyler patiently and lovingly pursued her. Tyler's pursuit of Bella grew her love for him, and it was Tyler's steady love that made her sure that he was the one. After doing 3 years of driving between Athens and Cleveland to spend time together, Tyler bought a ring while Bella was studying abroad in Italy. On October 1st, 2023, he took her to the Xtreme site where he first felt that heart sparkle, and asked her to be his wife. Of course, she said yes. We have been praying for this day for so long, before we even met. Our story is so special to us, and we constantly marvel at how evident it is that this love and partnership is the Lord's doing. We are so excited for this union and are so amazed by how evident it is that this is a gift from the Lord. Tyler is the greatest gift I never saw coming, but I am so thankful that he is soon to be mine forever.