Pierce and Annie met working summers at Mo-Ranch Summer Camp. Annie grew up going to camp, thanks to her grandmother, Nancy, while Pierce attended day camp at Mo thanks to his grandmothers, Priscilla and Jenny. While Pierce ended up attending sports camps growing up, he found his way back to Mo as a young adult, working as a camp counselor. Annie, meanwhile was at camp every summer alongside Pierce's sister, Devon. (This is important later on). After Pierce and Annie had worked half of a summer together, they developed a friendship. Annie knew Pierce was her favorite person to work with as co-counselors, because she felt like they made a great team, but outside of that, she had no romantic interest in him. Until... Every winter, Mo would host a counselor retreat. The year after their first summer working together, both Pierce and Annie, and numerous other counselors attended the retreat. At this point, Annie and Devon were close friends. Annie had known Devon since she was eight years old, Devon had been Annie's counselor, Annie's co-worker, and then was a kind, familiar face when Annie started college in Austin. So, when Devon suggested that Annie marry Pierce so they could be sisters, Annie laughed it off. But, when she really looked at Pierce after that comment was made, she thought that maybe she could consider it. And then, the two year waiting period began. Annie decided she did like Pierce, but was terrified to ruin such a great friendship. So, two years went by of texting, calling, facetiming, and telling all of her friends how much she liked him, without ever telling him.

In the summer of 2021, however, things changed. Pierce and Annie were head co-counselors that year, so there was a lot of planning and time spent together. The two realized that the feelings between them were more than that of friends and officially began dating on June 27, 2021.

Over the next three years, Pierce and Annie went on many adventures, attended many concerts, and visited two countries together. They moved to New Braunfels in May of 2024 and Pierce proposed on August 30, 2024.

Little did Annie know, Pierce had planned his proposal over a year in advance, and just about everyone knew the plan except her. Annie was under the impression that the two of them were going to the beach to celebrate her birthday with a handful of their friends. They left on Thursday night, and had a relaxing, at least for Annie, Friday. Pierce told Annie that they were meeting his parents for dinner that night at seven, so they needed to be ready to go by 6:50. As they got in the car, Pierce told Annie that the reservation couldn't actually be made until 7:30, but that he had found a nature preserve that they could go visit until dinner started. As they were leaving, Annie, as usual, asked Pierce if he had his phone and wallet. He tapped his pockets, and Annie could see that there wasn't a ring box anywhere, so she was convinced there was no proposal happening. Then, as they arrived at the nature preserve, Annie didn't see any familiar cars or faces, so she was further convinced that they were not getting engaged. As the two walked through the preserve towards a gazebo, Pierce asked Annie about dreams from her childhood she was still pursuing. Annie told Pierce that she wanted to marry a kind man and start a family, to which Pierce replied, "Well, you're going to have to wait a bit longer for that one." (He was really trying to make sure the proposal was a surprise.) Annie then asked him what childhood dreams he was still hoping to achieve and he made a joke about playing in the NFL someday. They laughed and kept walking, until they reached the gazebo, where they sat down. Pierce mentioned sunflowers growing along the sides of the gazebo, so Annie got up to look around. When she was looking for more flowers, Pierce mentioned that he actually was still working towards one of his childhood dreams. To which Annie replied, "You're not trying to go to the NFL!" He laughed, pulled the ring (which was NOT in a ring box) out of his pocket and told her his dream was also to start a family. He then got down on one knee and asked Annie to marry him in a joyful, sincere, and loving way. After she said yes, the two began taking pictures. Pierce had gotten a photographer, who had been hiding in the grass posing as a bird watcher. A few minutes into pictures, their friends arrived, taking Annie completely by surprise. There were many happy tears shed, and a lot of pictures to capture the moment. Pierce wasn't lying about dinner- they did end up needing to leave the photography session to meet his family at dinner. However, when they got to the restaurant, Annie's family ended up being there, too. Pierce had thought of everything and made the proposal so special for both of them. It was truly beautiful and the pair cannot wait to tie the knot in October.