If You Ask Ashlyn : Our story begins in the summer leading up to senior year of high school, when I receive a direct message on Instagram from Alex, who sends me my junior year prom photo captioned with the exact words "dudddde." Apparently he didn't mean to send me that, but we all know what he was attempting to do (wink wink), and it obviously worked because here we are seven years later.

Technically our first date was at Planet Fitness (Wayne aka dad was unaware of this), and it was the longest and most unproductive gym session I've ever had, since we just talked for hours. After meeting for the first time and talking for hours, I knew he was my person; I know it's a cliche, but you just know. And yes, my dad eventually got to meet him and intimidated the poo out of him (figuratively speaking), but Alex was profusely sweating and had some pretty armpit stains too.

Given how different we were from one another at that time, many people assumed this would just be a fun summer relationship, yet he stayed by my side no matter what and never left. We have grown and prospered together over these past seven years and will continue to do so as a consequence of our solid support system and our commitment to placing God's word at the core of our relationship. In the midst of this, we faced and overcame numerous life-changing experiences together at a young age, including high school, long-distance dating, college, starting careers, and that’s only the beginning.

Our story is far from finished, with obstacles to overcome, challenges to face, and happy memories to cherish, but these will be new chapters in our lives, shared as husband and wife and we are overjoyed to have all of your love and support as we embark on this new stage of life!

If You Ask Alex : Ashlyn and I’s story begins with me pretending to send a message to a buddy of a photo Ashlyn captioned “dudddde.” Obviously, I understood what I was doing, but I never imagined I'd be standing by her side over seven years later; not that it hadn't crossed my thoughts, but I was a totally different person than I am now.

Ashlyn and I had our first date at Planet Fitness, where we didn't work out but instead joked around as I flashed a bicep pump every now and again. I ultimately met her parents, and I soaked my polo in sweat from anxiousness since I knew I wanted to be with Ashlyn for the long term and didn't want to create the wrong impression. Ashlyn was still in high school, so we only saw each other a few times each week. Wayne rated me at the bottom of the priority list. As I recall, the list included God, family, school, friends, everything thing else, and then myself (lol). Wayne, I'm sorry you found out this way, but we saw each other almost every day.

Ashlyn and I have grown immensely over the years and witnessed one other's accomplishments. Ashlyn was my angel sent from heaven, as I tell everyone, because she reshaped who I was as a man, drew me closer to God, and helped me recognize the importance of having Jesus at the core of our relationship. Ashlyn and I have a lot more in store for each other, and we are so grateful to have the love and support of all of you amazing people who will be there to witness our wedding and future lives.