Ash and Drew started with a blind date.

They knew of each other of course - he was the cute guy she had a secret crush on, she was the girl with the pretty, blue eyes - but they didn't meet until a certain someone (shout-out groomsman Grant Collins) suggested Drew ask Ash to TMU's big event of fall semester: Fall Thing.

Having recently been rejected by the first girl he asked, Drew figured there was nothing to lose. So, with the help of some friends, Drew quickly met and then asked Ash to Fall Thing. She said, "sure."

It was awkward. See photograph below as proof of awkwardness:

Not their best look, but the night wasn't all bad. Sparks didn't fly, but friendship did.

The school year went on, and things progressed at the pace of a snail (side note: this is a common theme in their relationship). The two got to know each other via small chat at the salad bar, coincidentally bumping into each other at the library, and the occasional text. However, as Monty's (spring semester's formal) swiftly approached, Drew found himself eating more salads, studying lots in the library, and spending more time texting this girl, which eventually resulted in his asking her to Monty's. While there is no awkward picture to commemorate this event, Ash and Drew can attest to the fact that some sparks began to fly. 😏

After that, Drew made it his priority to let Ashlyn know, before the semester ended, that he was crushing hard, which resulted in a good, old-fashioned DTR on the Hotchkiss steps and their first long-distance summer filled with lots and lots of texting (which would become another common theme in their relationship).

Summer finally came to an end, Ash was so excited to see Drew, and she thought he was excited too. They were going to see each other on their first day back at school for a leadership retreat. All was fine, until Drew walked past Ash without even going so far as to say "hello." Suffice to say, tears were involved.

*Disclaimer: Apparently, a literal frog had made its way into Drew’s throat, and he had no physical capability of making a sound.

Fortunately, Drew did eventually get around to saying "hello," and things went great from there! After a number of boba dates (their date of choice to this day), the two officially became boyfriend and girlfriend on September 18, 2016. Yay!

Here is their first pic together as an official couple. Yes, they look like babies.

Dating in college included hundreds of dollars being spent on boba, late night ASB meetings together, trips to the beach (first kiss!), sushi, visits home to meet family, Disneyland, and Drew's graduation in 2018.

Vice President Fukuda and Communications Coordinator Mabs chilling at WOW Week 2017 (working hard or hardly working??):

Sadly, with Drew's graduation came the onset of looonngg-distance. 😭 There isn't as much to say here, considering they now only got to see each other three or four times each year. Facetime dates became the new norm, and hundreds of dollars were no longer being spent on boba but, instead, on plane tickets. However, even with the constant missing of each other, long-distance shaped Drew and Ash's relationship for the better, they grew so much, and they wouldn't trade it. 


That being said, as you can see from Drew and Ash's smiles in these pics, visits were the best thing ever!


Two years and seven visits later, Ash went to dinner with a friend (shout-out here to bridesmaid Anna Hall for impeccable lying), stopped in an olive orchard on their drive back home to "see if it would be a good place to go dove hunting" (yes, she fell for that), was shocked to see Drew (who was supposed to be a thousand miles away in Seattle). Long story short, she said yes!

Over the last five years, although there have been hardships and long distance often didn't seem to have an end in sight, the Lord made so clear His steadfast faithfulness and trustworthy strength, and all glory goes only to Him.


Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act. He will bring forth your righteousness to the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their stronghold in time of trouble. the Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in Him. Psalm 37:3-7, 40