Ashley's perspective of their story:

I remember the first time I worked with Tyler at Tops Markets back in the day, I thought he was the sweetest guy! I can say that I enjoyed working on days he was there and when he left for college, things were different there. We went on a couple "dates" during that time at Tops, but I was not 25 and our plans for the next 2+ years looked a little different and distant. Tyler went to college in South Carolina and I went to Kenya for a few months in 2016. We kept up with each other through Facebook over the years, but it wasn't until April of 2020 that we reconnected. I decided to reach out to Tyler after I saw he posted something on Instagram and I thought, "HUH, it's been a minute since I've heard or seen him... I wonder how he's doing?" That was it...

Honestly, I thought Tyler was dating someone when I messaged him but I learned that was not the case (am I allowed to say I was happy about that?!). I couldn't really tell how Tyler felt, but I knew he was interested in hanging out, but we didn't want to be irresponsible with COVID. We waited until the numbers were few and we had our next, first date picking up trash together in Jamestown. Then we just kept having COVID appropriate dates and had lots of time to talk while hiking, driving and just hanging out. I knew very early on that I could see myself loving Tyler for always. His gracious, playful spirit, love for the Lord and respect for me and others made it easy to quickly tell him that I loved him.

I'm so excited to see how the Lord uses both of us and our relationship to bring glory to Him. I pray we always seek Him and look to love each other and others in a way that's unique from others and points to God.

Tyler’s perspective of their story:

I want to start off by thanking God. He has blessed me with a wonderful woman to walk by my side. I pray that we can continue to use our relationship to honor Him and spread the good news of the gospel.

Ashley and I met way back in our TOPS days. We only worked together for a few months, but it didn’t take long for us to become close. I think it’s safe to admit now that I was definitely texting her while I was supposed to be working. (Sorry Andy.) I can remember thinking to myself, “Man. How in the world is this awesome girl interested in a goofball like me?” Something I still don’t understand to this day. One of my best memories from the TOPS days was going bowling and laying out under the stars talking. However, we were both young and going in different directions. We ended up going different directions when I went to college in South Carolina.

I am not much of a fan of social media. However, I do have to give a shoutout to Instagram. After moving home from SC, I started going on some adventures with my friend Nick. I thought that we had been able to take some fantastic pictures, so I decided to post on Instagram for the first time in 6 years. Well, this turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. Ashley saw my posts and how cool I had become, so she decided to reach out. Our first unofficial date was picking up trash and hiking. I knew from that day that I wanted to see where this would go. Just the fact that I suggested picking up trash in Jamestown and she was all for it says a lot about her character. It did not take me much longer to realize that I wanted to marry Ashley. There are so many things to love about Ashley, but the joy that she brings and the love that she shares is such a sight to see.