Our story began on the 10th hole of Tijeras Creek golf course. After an errant tee shot, Grant got into his golf cart, pulled out his phone, and scrolled through Hinge, an online dating app. Grant saw Evie’s profile and made the first move by liking a photo of Evie picking strawberries (Grant’s take: Beautiful picture, highlighting a truly heartwarming smile). Soon thereafter, Evie explored Grant’s profile and decided to start the conversation (Evie’s take: Cute guy that was worth a shot). Back and forth messages went. Ultimately, Evie invited Grant on a first date at the Sender One climbing gym in Santa Ana.

On January 14, 2022, Grant got lost and showed up late to the first date (Evie’s take: How do you get lost when you have Google Maps) (Grant’s take: Fair point). Thankfully, Evie looked the other way and showed Grant how to boulder. The conversation was good, and the climbing was fun. Unfortunately, Grant struggled mightily on what some were calling the hardest V1 climb in history. Though typically not one to give up, Grant decided to stop trying in order to preserve the good vibes of the night. (Grant’s take: I had to pick between my pride and the potential relationship). On the walk out of the gym, we discussed heading to dinner together, then Evie received a call from her cousin letting her know that her dog QQ had eaten an entire box of See’s chocolates earlier that night. In an understandable panic, Evie let Grant know of the situation (Evie’s take: This is so QQ). Grant reassured Evie that QQ’s situation should be the top priority (Grant’s take: Not 100% sure but I thought she might just be trying to get out of dinner). Evie messaged later that night letting Grant know QQ was okay. Grant asked Evie on another date. The relationship took off from there.

Our story developed over the ensuing months and years as we went on adventures, discovered shared interests, and learned from one another. Evie shared her love of farming and conservation (Grant’s take: I know more about vegan dining than I ever thought possible), while Grant introduced Evie to his love of sports (Evie’s take: Baseball is the best. Football is way to violent). Our joint love of animals was apparent from the beginning. This was featured in our frequent trips to the San Diego Safari Park, our journey to Yellowstone National Park, and our sea turtle adoption in Bali, Indonesia.

As our relationship strengthened, we also had the fortune of meeting each other’s family and friends. This involved traveling to Iowa to visit Grant’s extended family on several occasions (Evie’s take: Iowa might be my favorite state for future farm life). In turn, Evie took Grant to visit China for the first time. The trip included time with Evie’s parents, a tour around Shanghai, and a lot of tasty food (Grant’s take: xiao long bao is a final four level food). Beyond family, we also connected with each other’s friends from youth, high school, college, and post college.

On May 24, 2024, our story reached a new milestone. In the months prior, Grant planned a surprise proposal for Evie. Grant reached out to the staff at the brand new Wilson’s Orchard in Cumming, Iowa to let them know of the situation. After some back and forth, everything was set (Grant’s take: The graciousness shown by the staff throughout was 2nd to none). Unfortunately, two weeks prior to the surprise, Grant nearly blew it by inadvertently sending a message to Evie letting her know that the tour was set. After mild panic that involved deleting the message (Grant’s take: Not one of my better ideas), Grant recovered to let Evie know the tour was a Father’s Day gift for his dad (Evie’s take: I decided to put on my epic 'ANF(American Needs Farmers)' shirt for the farm tour). The day of the surprise started with thunderstorms in eastern Iowa. However, by the time we reached Cumming, the skies had cleared, and the weather was perfect. The tour began as a typical farm tour does, with farm general manager Jacob describing each of the different crops. Once we reached the apple orchard, Jacob stopped to let us take a look. At this point, Grant was sweating profusely. Luckily, the conversation turned to discuss Grant’s grandfather Jack, someone Jacob knew and admired. It was the relaxing moment Grant needed. As Evie walked through the apple orchard, Grant picked his spot and got down on one knee (Evie’s take: Something was up; he kept wanting to talk about us and I wanted to look at the apple trees). After a moment of shock, Evie said yes. It was a culmination of a lot of thoughts and feelings (Grant’s take: there is nobody I would rather spend the rest of my life with) (Evie’s take: there is nobody I would rather spend the rest of my life with).

A consistent theme throughout our story is the presence and importance of our friends and family. We are truly fortunate to have each of you in our lives and we cannot wait to celebrate our big day with all of you.