What brought us here was nothing less than God Himself. Kaydence has been really good friends with Alex's younger sister, Morgan, for the last seven years. She had not been around Alex much, so there was not much chance for interaction. We officially met when Morgan had a group of friends over to hang out, and we began talking in early 2024. At the time, Alex was living in Ashland, so we texted back and forth for about a month before going on our first date.

By mid-February, however, life had become overwhelming for Kaydence, and she didn’t feel she could prioritize a relationship the way she wanted. We decided to go our separate ways, believing that was the end of the story—but God had different plans.

Over the summer, Alex attended a test prep program in Florida. During those months, Morgan often mentioned how difficult the program was, and Kaydence couldn’t shake the feeling that she should reach out. In early August, she sent Alex a brief message to check in, ask how he was doing, and let him know she was praying for him. Due to how things had ended before, Alex was quite tenacious in replying, and the two of us rekindled conversation. After texting for about a month, Alex asked if she would be willing to go on another date, and she said she would!

By mid-September, Alex was back in town, and we went on our second date: a five-hour walk in the Parklands. It went wonderfully, and from that point forward, Alex made the three-hour drive to Louisville almost every other week for the next year. We've enjoyed spending time together going on walks, playing games, pickleball, and throwing axes (as of now, Kaydence is still beating him in head-to-head matches). We've spent nearly every day having hours-long FaceTime calls, sharing deep conversations, and simply going through life side by side.

The 3-to-20-hour distances between us required intentionality—something we’ve grown to appreciate more and more. Tens of thousands of miles were added to cars, and Kaydence even flew twice to visit Alex. But every mile and every hour has been worth it. Through the challenges of long-distance, medical school, and packed schedules, both of us learned how deeply the other cared. We grew to value not only the good moments, but also the hard ones, supporting each other in ways that strengthened our relationship. Kaydence’s steady encouragement helped carry Alex through the end of his third year, including round two of the exam that originally brought them back together. And Alex made sure Kaydence always knew she was cherished, even if it meant driving from Texas with only an hour of sleep.

Despite the distance and difficulty, Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 proved true in our relationship: “Two are better than one… one can help the other up.” There has been nothing quite like spending a day together having fun, knowing the person beside you has sacrificed so much out of love.

As the months went on and our appreciation for one another deepened, Alex began planning his proposal. On October 4, we spent the morning at a race just outside Nashville and expected to be there most of the day. After returning home around dinner time, we decided to take a walk at the Parklands to relax and “shake out some muscle tightness.” We headed to the Egglawn and began walking toward one of the nearby hills. The sun was setting in the background when we got to the top of the hill, where Alex got on one knee and got to ask the most important question of his life, to which she gave a big smile in a resounding yes!

A&K

Wedding Day

2:00 PM–2:45 PM

Ceremony

3:15 PM–8:30 PM

Reception