Carly and Will both attended Furman University for college, where they had many mutual friends but never crossed paths in a significant way. Fortunately, one of those mutual friends (Rob Cain) was the thread that connected them a few years after graduation. While on a weekend getaway to Rob's lakehouse, Carly received a bold Instagram message from Will. (See below)

Fortunately for Will, Carly was feeling generous and decided to throw him a bone. While she agreed that the timing was less than ideal (Will had just begun his first year of dental school in Houston, TX, and she was happily employed and living in Greenville, SC), Carly agreed to a FaceTime call.

One call led to another, and a month later, Carly was on a flight to Houston. Before long, Will and Carly were routinely making weekend trips to Houston and Greenville to see each other.

In the blink of an eye, Will and Carly were officially dating and spending more and more time with each other. Carly impressed Will's family in Texas during a cold hike in the rain, followed by a polar bear plunge. And Will scored brownie points with Carly's family after winning the Thanksgiving kite-making competition.

At the end of the first year of dating, Carly and Will embarked on their biggest adventure yet- two weeks of fishing, hiking, and camping in the great Alaskan wilderness. Will was shocked by Carly's eagerness to bush-whack through grizzly infested woods and wade into freezing cold salmon rivers. Apparently Carly was satisfied by Will's hygiene standards even in the backcountry, and was just blown away by his fishing prowess (haha). So they returned from Alaska as an intact couple, and haven't looked back.

Their second year of dating included a fun Christmas trip to NYC, completing their first triathlon, multiple weddings, Will's White Coat Ceremony, and finished with a bang on the Bernatovicz family trip to Greece.

Their THIRD year of dating saw some pretty big changes. Namely, Carly moved to Houston! After two years of long-distance, Will and Carly could finally spend time together on a weekly basis.

This year also included cheering on the Texas Longhorns, visits to the symphony, more weddings, and most exciting of all-- their engagement! While on a ski trip with Carly's family to Banff, Canada, Will pulled off an old-school surprise and put a ring on Carly's finger.

In the six months since their engagment, it has been a whirlwind of fun activities. In May, Will's parents invited them along for a European adventure. Carly and Will spent a week alone exploring the beauty of Scotland via camper van. Then they met up with Will's family to enjoy England, France, and Italy. There is not nearly enough space to share all of the fun pictures taken along the way, but here are a few highlights.

Before heading off to Europe, Carly quit her job as an HR recruiter with plans of beginning her career in mental health counseling at the end of the summer. After joining Will's family for a few weeks, she galavanted through Italy and Switzerland with her mom before landing state-side just in time to embark on a two-month running trip across the US. More info can be found here.

Now back in Houston, Carly has begun seeing clients for counseling, and Will is wrapping up his final year of dental school. He will begin a four-year residency program in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at VCU in Richmond, VA this summer.

If you made it all the way to the end, thank you! We have had a marvelous time dating each other and are grateful to our friends and families for inviting us on so many fun adventures over the last three years. We have felt immense love and support from all angles, which has made such a difference in our relationship.

We hope you have enjoyed reading about our story. If you are invited to our wedding, it means that you have played an important role in molding who we are as individuals, or as a couple. We cannot thank you enough, and we so look forward to sharing the special day with you in May!

All of our love,

Carly & Will