Reuben and Elise were attending ICC and living 1.5 miles away from each other in Washington, IL. Although they had several mutual friends at ICC, they had no idea the other existed...

#tragic

Elise started attending the young adult group at Summit Point Church in January. Little did she know, Reuben Roberts attended the same group! Due to Covid, group was moved to Zoom during the spring and then outside during the summer. While the two were around each other quite often, they still never met.

Reuben moved to Kansas for school in the fall while Elise stayed in the area. During this time, both earned their degrees, started their "adult" jobs, and settled into their routines.

#butwaittheresmore

Reuben moved back to Illinois in the summer for a few months while he waited for his next adventure. He planned to move to Florida in September where his bestie, Joel, was going to attend flight school.

During this interim period, Reuben got plugged back into Summit and found himself playing pickleball with the young adult group. Elise often played pickleball and was pleasantly surprised to see a couple of new faces on the courts one summer evening.

The smiley, red-bearded, cutie caught Elise's eye. She soon found herself in conversation with Reuben (and of course bestie, Joel, was there too) where she learned that he used to be part of the young adult ministry and was back temporarily while he and Joel figured out their plans.

Elise was disappointed to learn that he would be leaving but knew that, practically, she should not become emotionally invested in a boy who was moving across the country in 1.5 months.

While the two continued to run in similar circles and would see each other at church, pickleball, and game nights, they rarely interacted directly with one another. Elise was able to move past the initial butterflies she had, and Reuben remained oblivious to her momentary crush.

September came and the two found themselves at the Pumpkin Festival in Morton with a group of friends. Elise really hadn't thought that much about Reuben until she found herself in a direct conversation with him that night. It suddenly hit her that,

"WAIT, IT'S SEPTEMBER...isn't he supposed to be gone?!"

She promptly asked Reuben when he was leaving for Florida to which he oh-so-casually responded,

"Ohhhh... yeah that's not happening anymore."

#theplotthickens

Elise had a brief moment of hopeful panic because the cute boy she noticed months ago was in fact NOT MOVING!! All of her suppressed feelings started rising to the surface as she wondered if maybe, just maybe, something could happen between the two of them.


Reuben quickly crushed her hopes and dreams as he continued to explain that he and Joel now planned to go to California instead of Florida. He said they would probably leave sometime in January, and although disappointed, Elise did some quick math and realized that meant she had about 4 months with Reuben before he planned to leave.


Elise determined 4 months was an acceptable amount of time to get to know Reuben more. She decided she would keep an open mind and just let whatever happens, happen.


Now that Reuben wasn't moving to Florida, he came to more Summit events and group hang-outs. He often found himself sitting next to and talking to Elise. While he now claims this was unintentional and didn't mean anything, Elise was convinced he was interested in her. She would find excuses to join the groups he was part of and had many conversations with him about animals, coffee, and science.


Because Reuben doesn't have any social media, Elise couldn't make a casual move and request to follow him on any platforms :( She continued to wait and wonder if he was actually interested, until one day, she had an excuse to text him!


She and her roommates were having a bonfire and Reuben told Elise to text him the details. This led to the exchange of phone numbers and Elise sending the first text to which Reuben responded,
Lit, I'll be there at some point


Elise probably should have taken this short, casual response as a clue that he was not interested, but she was just too excited that he was coming to the bonfire.


After the bonfire, groomsman, Nathan, informed Reuben that he thought Elise was interested in him. This was brand new information to Reuben (despite all of Elise's not-so-subtle hints) and he decided he would continue to text Elise.
#thanksnathan


The two texted continuously for a few days, and on October 10, Elise boldly asked Reuben if he was today's date because she thought he was a 10/10 (that's right folks...she's got pickup lines for dayssss).


Reuben asked Elise if she wanted to get coffee with him two days later. He stated that it was not a date because he wanted to talk through the whole moving-to-California thing first. They talked for hours. Elise made it clear to Reuben that she still wanted to date him even though he hadn't made a final decision about moving to California. Their not date ended with an official first date planned for the next day.
#whowouldathought

On October 14, Reuben and Elise went on their first date. In the days to follow, Elise sort of freaked out because she wasn't sure if she was ready for a legit, adult relationship. They had many conversations and discussed the pros/cons of Reuben moving to California. At one point, Elise tried to convince him that he should move to Cali because that seemed easier to her than having to go through the dating/decision-making process.

#yourewelcomejoel

Alas, on October 20, Reuben told Elise that he was not moving to California and asked her to be his girlfriend.

#sorryjoel

The two continued to go on dates, hang out with friends, and serve in their young adult group. Reuben quickly grew weary of driving 40 minutes each way from Elise's place to his home in Gridley. In December, he decided to move into an apartment with some friends from church that just so happened to be .25 miles away from Elise's apartment.

As the months passed, their love grew and the time they spent together increased. Because of their close living proximity, they learned what it looked like to "do life together." They spent many evenings cooking dinner together, watching TV, playing games etc. Elise would often read her books while Reuben played video games or worked on his puzzle.

#readergirlfriendgamerboyfriend

Some favorite dating memories include walking at Eureka Lake, rating various pizza restaurants, mini-golfing, and a day trip to the Brookfield Zoo.

"Dating exists for evaluation - not a status to dwell in but a process to move through."

-Ben Stuart

Reuben and Elise did not desire to dwell in the dating phase longer than necessary, so after many conversations and talking with those closest to them, they decided to take the next step.

They had a lovely, sparkly time going ring shopping together to get an idea of what Elise might like, but she ultimately left the final decision up to Reuben.

Throughout their dating relationship, they often took turns planning "surprise" dates for each other. One May evening, Reuben decided to plan the ultimate surprise date. He picked Elise up on May 22 and drove her to Eureka Lake -- one of their favorite spots to go walk together. After a trip around the lake, they made their way to a little walking bridge to look into the stream below. As Elise looked over the bridge to see what critters she could find, Reuben waited behind her on one knee holding a ring box. He expressed his love and desire to spend the rest of their lives together and popped the question. "Will you marry me?"

#cuethetears

Elise's mom and sister were conveniently camouflaged behind some bushes and captured the whole proposal where Elise, of course, said "YES!!"

After enjoying a special, celebratory dinner as a newly engaged couple, Reuben and Elise met up with their families and texted, FaceTimed, and called their people to share their happy news. The following days were filled with excitement and chaos as Elise and Reuben prepared to leave for Belize with Elise's family on May 25.

The happy couple spent a week in tropical bliss where they got to enjoy many new adventures and spend some intentional time together. Following the trip, the engagement season has been filled with summer wedding planning, pickleball dates, and (im)patiently counting down the days to November 23. Elise looks forward to Reuben grabbing her left hand every day and flashing her ring around as he exclaims, "bling bling bling!!!" (it's possible that, as much as Elise loves her engagement ring, Reuben loves it more), and Reuben looks forward to Elise's reminders that, "November really isn't that far away..."

#deluluisthesolulu

They are truly so excited for their wedding day to be here and to celebrate with you all! They hope you've enjoyed reading their story and getting to know them a little bit more :))