Not many people can say they knew the person they were going to marry when they were just 8 years old. Although they didn’t know it then, Dani and Chris’s lives were meant to be perfectly parallel to one another with the divine intent to one day cross and blossom into the purest love either of them has ever experienced.

Their friend groups overlapped, but for the most part, Dani and Chris really only had passing knowledge of each other for years and years. By the most wonderful of coincidences, they were both set to start the next chapter of their academic lives at Roanoke College, which would be the place that everything started.

Freshman year’s 1st semester had gone quite well for them both that they were being recognized by Alpha Lamba Delta, a freshman honor society. Even though Chris wasn’t so sure about attending, he’s glad he did. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to make himself laugh (even to this day) while nominating a well-known quiet introvert named Dani to be considered for a president position of the honor society. Something he knew she would 100% hate. He can still remember the look of pure confusion on her face and the smirk he felt on his own as he shot his hand in the air to vote for her gleefully. Unfortunately, the votes weren’t on her side, but the seeds were planted with the first step to their lives fully crossing paths.

Days, weeks, months, even years passed from that moment, neither of them interacting. Then, in the height of COVID, two masked students, one who just left from his job and one who just happened to be on campus for a test, pass by each other on the sidewalk outside of Roselawn. Chris isn’t normally someone who just talks to people, as I’m sure you all know, but something inside him made him say, “Dani???” The two caught up and each of them attests that from that point on, some part of their mind thought of the other differently. Chris asked around for ways to contact her, tried to replicate the time and path to see if he could talk to her again, but he had no luck as well as no brain to think to use the school email (we’ll forgive him).

Months passed, summer came and went. Senior year was about to be over for Dani that semester and she’d been working for Starbucks to get some spending money. Then one day, Alexis, Chris’s sister, just happened to be a customer in Dani’s line. They recognized each other, and with that came a spark thinking back to her and his sidewalk memory. So, taking the opportunity, she simply said, “Tell Christopher I said hi!” And that one request, whether rightly or wrongly, still gets held over his head by Alexis to this day because it ultimately did cause their lives to finally entangle.

They began to spend time at Starbucks, in the library, and just walking around campus. It always seemed like a coincidence to Chris (he’s not as bright about some things), but Dani had memorized his schedule and knew when she could run into him. Whether this was good detective work or stalking, it was effective in bringing them closer.

Chris had been working at Mac and Bobs for the last few months since they first began spending time. He wasn’t sure what it was between them, but he enjoyed talking with Dani and spending time with her. It was only when someone at work expressed interest in him and he gave her his number that something felt wrong. He hadn’t consciously thought of it until then, but he realized he really liked Dani and if he waited any longer to act on it, he could lose his chance. So, he asked her to lunch (not even picking her up! The nerve. But we forgive him. Again). Soon after, he attended her birthday and went out to dinner and a movie. Then, the night of January 6th, 2022, right before Chris was leaving her house after having dinner with her family, he asked her to be his girlfriend. Lucky for him, she accepted, and life has seemed so much brighter for both of them ever since.

They’ve laughed and cried. They’ve had adventures and misadventures. But all the while, they’ve loved each other with all their hearts. Neither thought they could love each other more, but it just keeps happening. Every day, every minute, every second together makes life feel worth living. And after Chris proposed to Dani, on that same sidewalk that sealed their fate together all those years ago, it’s never seemed more real.

Now, they are moving to a new chapter in their lives that Chris and Dani invite you to be a part of, to celebrate with those who’ve been there along the way, and they hope that their story continues to have even more moments of joy to cherish for many years together.

Thank you for reading Our Story,

Future Mr. and Mrs. Rowsey