Where you might've seen it first... Our first duet! Mel really wanted to do a violin and flute duet and had asked Cade, who was the only one with a violin in the band, to do The Prayer for a special music. Though it's argued between them, this was probably the first interaction that led to other very special moments and duetsduets.

When we were just bandmates! This picture is from a video where you can see our awkward young selves making a video for band. At this point, there may have been a few butterflies floating around that room.

After a couple of years of being friends, and maybe an "I like you" and "I like you too" phrases said once or twice, we decided we wanted to date during Mel's last year at IA. But not without going to a couple banquets together first!

Our first official date! After a long summer canvassing, we decided to have some fun at the zoo. We had just started heading out when we saw that we missed the gardens. An employee advised us to take cover if we planned on going out since it was going to start raining. We don't think we gave it much thought per the picture, and it turned out to be the highlight of the date :)

Fast forward a couple years and to the coldest lake in the Midwest. Going to Andrews University together not only grew our relationship but our resistance to cold weather. Going out to the lake to explore and take pictures is a favorite memory of ours while being in Michigan.

In-between their graduating years, Mel and Cade decided to be student missionaries from 2022-2023. Mel went to teach highschoolers in Costa Rica while Cade pastored in Hawaii. This picture was a week in-between the year that Cade's family took to visit him with Mel. It was a long, tough year for the both of them, but what came out of that year strengthened them individually and as a unit.