Our story started almost 3,000 miles away from home in 2015. On a school trip to the Galapagos Islands, we met each other for the first time. She was drawn to his sense of humor; he loved her sincerity and enthusiasm.

Back in Iowa, after finally working up the courage to ask her to Homecoming (with the help of friends and family), we started dating the fall of our junior year of high school.

Elise went to Iowa, pursuing an education in pharmacy, while Charlie went to Indiana to study business. Long distance over four states and two different countries was hard at times, but despite its challenges, we never failed to call each other every night (a number we're scared to calculate but somewhere over 2,000 calls).

This June, we took a trip to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. We had dinner in a chapel over the water. Elise asked Charlie what his favorite memories over the past nine years had been. After saying he was about to make his favorite, Charlie got down on one knee and asked her to marry him.

We just celebrated our ninth anniversary this past October. We are happily living together and have thrown ourselves into life in Chicago! Elise is a full-time pharmacist while Charlie is in wealth management. We have walked side by side into adulthood and just adopted our cat Ozzie this September!

We couldn't be more thankful for everyone in our lives who have helped us get here. The countless hours spent with family and friends have shaped us into the people who we are now. Thank you for joining us for our special day, and we can't wait to celebrate with you!

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