Our story began the way all the best ones do: in a small-town college campus dining hall.

Gracie and Jared both began classes at Ashland University in the fall of 2018. They met less than a year later on Gracie's 19th birthday where she was set to have dinner at Convo with her best friends. Sitting down at an overly large table for just 5 people, Gracie's friend Bethany explains that her new boyfriend Nathan and his friends would be joining them, right as they walked in the room. Jared was among them (the quietest among them) and sat diagonally across from Gracie. After dinner was said and done, and Gracie had snuck glances at Jared all through it, it was time to go. But not before her friends could strike up a verse of Happy Birthday to You. In front of a whole cafeteria. Filled with hundreds of students. *sigh*

Gracie says that is monumentally embarrassing. Jared looks at her fire engine-red face and says "I think that's the point."

Have you ever had a life-changing cup of coffee? We sure did. In November 2019, after not really spending any time together and just exchanging of pleasantries around campus, Jared messaged Gracie to go have a cup of coffee at the local watering hole, Downtown Perk. Jared doesn't even like coffee, they just sit there and talk for two hours, until an employee asks them to kindly leave so they can close up. On a walk to the car, Jared asks if they can give this a go. They began to date and Jared officially asked Gracie to be his girlfriend on January 25, 2020.