We both grew up in California and are so thankful that God put it in our plans to choose to attend Cal Poly and Grace Central Coast church, where we met.

We had mutual friends throughout the beginning of college but didn’t have many interactions until a little later. During our freshman year, I found out it was going to be Ben’s birthday the Sunday after a college group dodgeball event and joked that I would have the college group sing “Happy Birthday” to him at the end of the service. He didn’t want to be embarrassed but that made me more motivated to do it anyways!

During our sophomore year, I gave Ben a few rides to church because he didn’t have a car yet and we both had to be there early (me for worship and him for set-up). He got to experience my crazy parking garage driving and got punched a few times when I spotted out of state license plates on the drive!

That summer, I wanted to go stargazing with some girl friends but wanted to get some guys to come with us since the place we like to go is a little sketchy at night. So I texted an invite to the big group chat we were both in and Ben responded with a fact about the stars that night. I texted him separately, wondering if he was just mentioning a fun fact or if he was actually in town and able to come. He replied that he was home in SD for the summer working, which was then the start of an ongoing texting convo that is still going to this day!

At the start of our Junior year, we started hanging out in group settings, going on hikes, watching movies, getting donuts, studying, and other classic college kid things. At the college group hoedown, they danced together all night, Ben gave me his jacket and then he asked me to coffee the next day. At coffee, he bought me a chai latte and we talked about our testimonies of coming to faith in Christ. That Thursday (11/7/19), I invited him to line dancing and he surprisingly came after his small group with some friends who were acting a little suspicious. We danced together a bit and then we went outside for a break, where he asked me out on a date for the next weekend.

We couldn’t wait that long though, and went on our first date that Sunday (11/10/19). He asked me to be his girlfriend the weekend after (11/20/19) and have gone out in tons of fun dates since then!

Some of our favorite pastimes together have been cooking and baking different fun recipes, visiting his family in San Diego and seeing his favorite spots growing up, playing Wii golf, and studying together at the library or my house.

This past summer, I moved to Fresno and we started dating long-distance. Thankfully for zoom technology, texting, and visits every few weekends, we still manage having some fun together!

One weekend visit, I had the feeling it would be an extra special one because Ben had been giving some heavy hints and my mom wanted to get our nails done that Saturday. My intuition was correct and he proposed at Shell Beach after we bought picnic foods at Trader Joe’s and looked at the cute animals at Avila Valley Barn! I said yes and I couldn’t be happier to be married to Ben for the rest of my life because he is the sweetest man I have ever met and I am so thankful God paired us together for His purposes!

Emily and I met through Grace Central Coast Church while we were both attending Cal Poly. I remember the first time I met her was waiting for a ride to church one of my first Sundays in SLO. I remember noticing Emily and thinking she was kinda cute, but it looked like she already knew a ton of people, and I was new to town and still an awkward teenager at that time, so I didn’t get to know her much yet. I would see her from time to time around campus or leading worship, and every now and then she would give me a ride to church if we both needed to be there early, but I didn’t really get to know her until after my sophomore year.

We were both part of a large group text message, and one day Emily sent a message that she wanted to go stargazing that night, and I, like the nerd that I am, felt the need to let her know that there was actually going to be a meteor shower that night, and that she should wait a little bit later in the night to be able to see it. These messages got us talking, and this is where I really started to develop feelings for her.

Come October and November, I was really into Emily and I wanted to ask her out, but I was not sure at all if she was into me. I started to clue in when she sat next to me the whole night while watching a movie at a mutual friend’s house, and when, out of the blue, she started inviting me on hikes and to go line dancing with her and her friends. I know she didn’t invite me to go dancing because I was a good dance partner, so that was a rather big hint. She had been telling me about how much she loved coffee and coffee shops, and there was a newer shop near my house, and so I invited her there to “study” for a bit. After this unofficial date, I was ready to ask her out for real date. Next time she invited me to go line dancing, I asked her out on our first official date.

From then on, we spent a lot of time together, eating out, playing games, and just studying together. During this time, I got to know what a Godly, caring, sweet, and funny woman that I had the privilege to date. In the spring of 2020, I had gone home to quarantine there. It was during that time, especially when she came down to visit me, that I first knew that I wanted to marry her. However, it wouldn’t be until the fall of 2021 that we would take the next step towards that.

After my internship in 2021, I had saved up enough money for a ring, and I was just waiting for just the right time to propose. That date came on October 30, 2021. On this day, I had asked Emily’s mom to take her out for a manicure, while my parents came up with the ring that they had been holding onto for me. That day, I had told Emily that we were going to try to get some food, go to Avila Valley Barn, and then have a picnic on the beach. What she did not know is that I had asked a friend (thanks Cam!) to hide on the beach with a camera. When Emily and I arrived at the beach, where I asked Emily to be my wife.

I could not ask for a better woman to marry. Emily is so funny, so sweet, so beautiful, and most of all, such a Godly woman who constantly points me to Christ. I can not wait for the next chapter of our lives together!