Josiah and I met for the first time back in fall '20 on a dating website (shoutout Bumble). We had our first date a couple days later and really hit it off. We were on opposite shifts with work, so we really only saw each other on the weekends. We dated for a few months but losing Papa led me to break things off for a while. I did regret doing that but thankfully God brought us back together almost exactly a year later. We started seeing each other again in spring '22, officially got back together in June, and we both knew that was it. We started talking about marriage about a month later and discussing the future. Continued dating and making memories, and in February '23 we got engaged! It really has been a journey and we have seen God work in our relationship time and time again. We are so excited to get married and celebrate with our close friends and family!

Hannah’s POV:

Josiah and I met on Bumble, around October 2020, we went on our first date a week later. We met at La Caretta (classic) and then Rookies after. I remember seeing him in person for the first time thinking “wow he’s really tall” lol. We went in and ordered food and then he prayed before we ate, I was in shock and I immediately knew he was different than any guy I had ever met. We had a great dinner and really never had any awkward silence. He then asked if I wanted to go grab some ice cream (it was absolutely freezing outside and I hate the cold) but I said yes because I wasn’t ready for the date to be over. We went to rookies and spent the night laughing and learning more about each other. We really had a special connection.

Josiah’s POV:

Hannah and I first matched on Bumble in October 2020. After about a week of talking, I was excited to meet this girl for real. I asked her what some of her favorite places to eat were and we decided on La Caretta. I was super nervous for the date, and wasn't sure what to expect, but as soon as I saw her, I thought to myself I really really hope this is my date.. She was so much prettier than I had imagined. She made conversation easy and I knew I wanted to learn everything about her, so that helped. After dinner, I didn't want the date to be over so soon, so I asked if she wanted to go get ice cream. She agreed so we went to Rookies, and got ice cream sandwiches. We sat in the warmth of the car I borrowed from a friend (I didn't want my car to break down on the way to or during the date or anything) and talked. We got to know so much each other in such a short time, and it was the perfect first date.

Hannah’s POV:

On February 18th, Josiah and I had planned a date out cause we hadn’t done anything in a while and we wanted to get out of the house. I drove over to his place and we made breakfast together before we started our day. We went to some antique stores and then he said he wanted to go for a drive. I knew that he was getting ready to propose sometime soon but I didn’t know when. At first I had suspicions that it could be today but he kept changing the plans so that thought left my mind. We were driving and ended up going to Smith Mountain Lake. That is where we got back together in June 2022. There were some girls standing on the dock taking pictures and I was like “let’s just wait til they leave” he insisted that we go up on the dock. The next part could have given it away but it wasn’t out of character so I didn’t bat an eye. He asked the girls to take our picture, which he does pretty much anywhere we go alone. She takes a few pictures then gets us to look out on the lake. Well when I turned back around he was down on one knee asking me to marry him. I think I was in shock, neither of us really remember what we said it just all happened so fast. Then we spent the night going around and sharing this news with our families, it was so so special! A day I will never forget!

Josiah’s POV:

We had discussed getting married many many times before, and I knew I wanted to propose to Hannah and make it special, but I didn't know how. I decided the first step was to meet with her dad and get his blessing, and then maybe the ideas would start flowing. I texted her dad and we met on February 2nd. He gave me his blessing and I knew I needed to hit the ground running. I had already had a good idea of the kind of ring she wanted, so I spent a couple days doing some searching and then ordered it. The ring ended up arriving the weekend before I had planned to propose and the customized ring case came only just a few days before the proposal date.. I was getting a little nervous at that point that my plan was already starting to fall apart. Finally February 18th arrived and in just a little over 2 weeks after getting her dad's blessing, everything was happening perfectly. Even the weather was perfect and warm for a mid-February day, and it was all thanks to God. The morning of we made breakfast at my house together and just enjoyed some time together. After breakfast we had planned a date to go around to some antique stores and then take a drive to the blue ridge parkway. After antique shopping we were going to head to the blue ridge parkway, except I had never planned to go to the blue ridge parkway. I told Hannah that maybe it would be better to just go to Smith Mountain Lake is it was closer to where we were at, and she agreed. This was an attempt to throw out an thoughts that I might propose since I was changing plans last second. We ended up getting to the fishing dock at the state park, where I had asked her to be my girlfriend in June of '22. We wanted to go on the dock, but there were some girls on the dock taking photos (This was actually the photographers I had hired), so I said to Hannah "Hey maybe we should just go up there and wait on the other side for them to finish up". She reluctantly agreed and when we got up there, I teased her saying "Hey maybe I should ask them to take our pictures!". This is something I have teased many times before, so she was used to me teasing it, but this time I actually asked them. The photographer agreed and we were standing there posing for some photos. The photographer ended up having Hannah turn around facing the water for a photo, which is when I got down on my knee and pulled out the ring. Hannah turned around and couldn't believe it. She was genuinely surprised and it was the most perfect moment. The photographer snapped some photos and had told the people on the shore that I was going to be proposing before we arrived. After I proposed, all the people back at the shore cheered and celebrated. I couldn't have asked for a more special moment and for everything to have worked out as perfect as it did. We later went around telling friends a family the good news and it was so surreal to see all of their reactions.