We met in Indiana at Purdue University, each of us having left our home states of Florida and Delaware to attend grad school; one for masters, one for PhD. Though we were completely different academic disciplines, we ended up having a class together. We connected initially over our love of sports, working out and academics, but grew close through unexpected similarities in humor, wit, values and future goals. We spent the better part of a year as close friends, navigating the ups and downs that life brought each of us, together. Somewhere along the way we became inseparable, and we began dating in late 2016. People are often curious if we started dating before or after Wesley’s accident and the answer is after. His motorcyle accident was in 2008 and we met in 2015. Understandably, it has presented us with unique challenges but to be entirely honest, we just never thought much about it. Me being a Type 1 diabetic brings challenges too but our physiological challeneges are really no different than any other difficulties life presents. A lot of people say we have great attitudes about our situations but for us, it’s not about maintaining a certain attitude it’s just who we are; it’s not about the hand you’re dealt its how you play it. This is how we’ve always approached the relationship we have with each other and ultimately how we live our lives. Looking back it was serendipitous, how we met… how two east-coast kids from opposite ends of the US even ended up in the same place at all. Wesley's career in aviation has since brought us to south Jersey where we are currently establishing our roots. How we met really was a chance in lifetime, little did we know that meeting in grad school would eventually lead to tying the knot! #majoredinlove

We got engaged in late fall of 2019, around Thanksgiving. We had been living in New Jersey for just under a year at that point and were finding our way amidst new jobs, new friends and a new place to call home. Kelsey’s parents had come up from Florida to celebrate the turkey holiday and long weekend. Wesley incidentally “had an idea” to visit Longwood Gardens that weekend, as it was the kickoff of their Christmas event which included thousands of holiday lights and Christmas-themed garden displays. For those who are visiting us from other areas, Longwood Gardens is a beautiful park in Pennsylvania consisting of over 1000 acres of gardens, woodlands and beautiful horticulture displays. It has different events throughout the year based around what’s in bloom however Christmas is one of the most special times of all, where the park is decorated extensively with beautiful lights and large-scale Christmas-themed garden exhibits. After a round of pictures in front of beautifully-lit Christmas trees, Wesley turned to Kelsey and said “just wait, lets do one more...” Cue dad filming, Wesley says “Kelsey.. I love you, I love what we have and I love all we’ve done. I want you to be my partner for life, I want to spend my life with you, will you marry me?” Of course there were lots of tears and joy and long-story short, Kelsey said yes. The whole night was simply beautiful. We were surrounded by the joy of the holidays, family, and the love we had for each other. It was wonderful, and to us, it was perfect. Of course both sets of parents knew everything, and everyone was excited for all there was to come. That night we commited to each other, through thick and thin. Getting engaged was the most beautiful, scariest, biggest adventure we had yet embarked on, but from that time on we knew we had each other, for better or worse.