It all started in summer of 2024. Ella's friend convinced her to move into a duplex house with her and a group of her friends. There were two boys in the lower unit that Ella's friend Solvay graduated high school with, (spoiler, one was Gavin!) There was a bonfire at the house and we began talking. A few days later, when Ella and her mom were moving stuff into the house, Gavin was walking out and met Ella's mom Donna. After he left, Donna told Ella "you're going to marry that boy someday." Donna didn't know it yet, but Ella was growing a crush on the boy downstairs!

Gavin and Ella continued talking and eventually, he asked her to officially be his girlfriend with a teddy bear and flowers. Ella knew Gavin was the man for her when the first time he told her he loved her was in the middle of watching the "Spongebob Movie" together! ;)

Fast forward to February 22, Gavin asked Ella to go to Lions Conservatory Park for his mom to take pictures of them together. Gavin led Ella down a walking trail to a birch wood cross he and his dad had built together set up with white lights on it, surrounded with candles and flower petals. When Gavin proposed and Ella said yes, Gavin's mom, dad, sister Taylor, and her boyfriend Hunter jumped out of the trees they were hiding in to congratulate us on our engagement! Gavin and Ella went to the Cork'n Cleaver for dinner where they found a tiny Jesus figurine next to a vase on a shelf in their booth. It said "Jesus loves you" on it. We took it as a sign Jesus was with us and as excited as us to get married!

God has been so good to us throughout our time together and we CANNOT WAIT to be married this September in front of the people we care about most!