I say Nate can explain it better than I can, but he always starts it off wrong with “We’re cousins”...which we most certainly are not. Our families, however, are woven together over many years of a friendship that began with our grandpas.

I could go into further detail on that, but our story really sort of begins years later at Possum Kingdom Lake on a fun summer weekend. That was the first time we truly spent time together; the highlight being late night swims that were just genuinely exciting and freeing. We floated, laughed, and told stories; there were definitely sparks, but it wasn’t our time yet.

A few years later, Nate moved to McKinney while I was living in Fort Worth and I asked his mom for his number to talk to him about a certification I was interested in. Next thing I know, we have a streak going on Snapchat!

I invited him over to a pool party with my family one night and he was so close to not coming after having a crazy tiring day and it being evening time and an hour long drive. Thankfully, he ended up coming over and that night became the true beginning of our love story. We stayed up all night talking about everything and anything, Nate likes to say “we solved all of the world’s problems that night.” I couldn’t agree more, that was one of the best nights of my life.

Our first date was at the Urban Street Grill in McKinney where Nate showed me the city life. I spent a lot of weekends in McKinney after that where we had many more wonderfully amazing nights whether it was exploring the town square or dancing in the living room. There is never a dull moment when Nate is around! I figured out I finally found the man of my dreams. We fell deeply in love, in the freedom to be who we are, in the fun in life, and in the way we can get lost in each other wherever we are.

My favorite night was when Nate asked me to be with him forever. He proposed at a special place of ours, Possum Kingdom Lake, during sunset right before the Fourth of July fireworks! I love this man more than I can fathom, and I can’t imagine my life without him, so I was saying “yes, yes, yes” before his knee even hit the ground.

May we live a wonderful and happy life together, my love. I know it will be nothing short of special. Here's to promising each other forever, the many adventures, and enjoying life together! Slainte mhaith!