Our story is a pretty long one considering we met in 2016 and even before that, we attended a few of the same birthday parties as children.

In May of 2016, we met and our friendship began. We hungout with each other multiple times and constantly texted. At this time, I was looking to find a Ford Mustang to buy and on one occasion, Jacob drove me all the way to Leesburg, VA to test drive a car. It was so sweet and at the time I didn't realize, but I was already falling for him.

A few weeks later, I confessed my feelings to him and, lucky for me, he felt the same way. We started dating and were quick to fall head-over-heels for each other.

Throughout our college years, I would visit him on the weekends and sometimes he would come home to see me. We had many adventures together—parties, traveling to see friends, going on vacation, many birthdays, family dinners, relaxing weekends, exploring different hiking trails (one of which felt like a 90-degree incline), and just making memories with each other and with friends.

After college, Jacob came back home and we moved in together. Not much later, the cat distribution system gifted Jacob the tiniest 1-week-old kitten that he took to the Humane Society to care for. After much discussion (and 2 months later), we finally brought home our baby Blue. He has been a part of our lives now for 5 years and is the most wonderful gift from God.

We have continued to make so many cherished memories together alongside multiple traditions. Our favorite tradition is our annual family beach trip to the Outer Banks. We will forever treasure the memories we've made there and the time spent with our loved ones. This is also the place where Jacob decided to propose. On September 17, 2023, Jacob brought me down to the beach under the assumption that we were taking Christmas card photos. Little did I know that he would get down on one knee and ask me to marry him. The happy tears were flowing like a waterfall that day. After 8 years of being together, I was finally going to get to marry my best friend, my better half, my soul mate. And judging by the smile on his face, he was excited too.

God brought us together for a purpose, and I believe that purpose is simple—that we compliment one another perfectly and bring out the best in each other. We will forever be grateful to our Lord that he forged our paths to meet.

If you got to the end of this story, I applaud you. I might've written a bit much, but how do you tell an 8-year story in only a few paragraphs? We hope you enjoyed reading the story of us and cannot wait to see you at our wedding!