God is a God of detail. He is faithful beyond our comprehension. He is worthy of all the glory for each and every detail in our story.

Our story began further back than many realized - in September 2021, we were set up on a blind date by a mutual friend. It began with a dinner at Hudson House and continued with few other dates to follow. Yet the timing wasn't right and Jacy walked away from the relationship.

Fast forward to July of 2022, Jacy’s prayers consistently included, “Lord, give me eyes as you have eyes for man - show me someone who is completely yours and embodies what scripture calls a man to be.” After praying this over and over, the Lord continued to bring Bret to mind and Jacy’s heart was opening to the idea of what the Lord would have for us.

On October 29th, 2022, almost a year to the date since we had last seen each other, we ended up at the same Halloween party. True to Bret’s character, he approached Jacy and proceeded to ask questions, remembering specific details from conversations the year prior. Bret walked away from the conversation thankful that they’d seen each other, but didn’t want to get his hopes up. Jacy walked away giddy and impressed.

Leading into the holidays, a trip to Broken Bow was in the works for New Years Eve and both Bret and Jacy’s names happened to be on the guest list. Bret headed into the trip with zero expectations - thinking he was in the friend zone and oblivious to what would happen next; Jacy approached the trip expectant and hopeful. The weekend was filled with new friends and old friends, living life amongst community, and we were able to observe one another, and their hearts for their friends. Jacy noticed Bret’s humility, his intentionality with people, and his fun-loving persona that came out around his friends. Bret noticed Jacy’s hospitality, thoughtfulness, and specific care for those around her - his hopes slowly returning when he recognized how quickly she took his Golden Retriever puppy, Maggie, holding the pup 99% of the time.

As the trip came to a close on January 1, 2023, Bret reached out to Jacy that night expressing his enjoyment of the weekend and their time together and closed his text with the words “I hope I get to see you again soon.” Not 100% sure what these words meant, aware that she was the one who ended things in the past, and hopeful and expectant of the prayers she had been praying, Jacy put herself out there and responded - “Despite what I’ve said in the past, I’d be open to going on a date again if you asked me. I’d love to continue getting to know you, if you are open to it.” And on January 4, 2023, just a few short days later, we went on our 2nd first date and Bret made it official 4 days later.

Ten days into dating, Bret called his parents to set a time to introduce them to Jacy. Upon learning they’d be in California for the next month, Bret threw out the idea to go visit them in the Bay Area, stating, “We can put as much or as little pressure on this as we want. Whether we have dinner with them in Carmel or Dallas, I want you to meet them.” Probably scaring Jacy’s parents and most friends thinking they were insane, they booked a trip two weeks into the relationship and spent a long weekend in Northern California.

From there, the relationship quickly progressed with a steady stream of double dates, time spent with each other’s families, and trips across state lines - it’s amazing how deeply you get to know one another through the lenses of travel to new places.

As they approached the fall of 2023, with expectant hope for the future, Bret began planning for the year to come. Plans then were set in motion - the two went ring shopping, Bret bought a house in Dallas, and plans for the engagement began to unfold. He did his best to creatively plan the day, giving nods to some of the favorite early memories of their story - including fake dinner plans to Hudson House, where they had their first date and a trip back to the Northern California coast.

On an unexpectant Thursday morning, Bret showed up at Jacy’s house with a cup of coffee and said, “Hey, so we don’t actually have dinner reservations at 6:00... but we do have a flight today at 5:00. I’ve cleared it with your boss and you’re off the rest of the week. I’ll pick you up at 3:00 PM.” Trying to keep the itinerary of the weekend a surprise, Bret didn’t reveal any of the weekend plans or specific destinations but simply stated he had won a work trip and they were taking a few days off.

Landing in San Francisco that evening, Bret maintained his composure but Jacy was hopeful that this was the weekend she had been praying for all year long.

That first morning, Friday, the two walked Carmel-by-the-Sea in no rush - intentionally setting the pace for the memorable weekend to come. Bret had set reservations at a local winery for lunch with some of the BEST food, and told Jacy that they had no other plans that day, other than their dinner reservation at 5.

With the afternoon open to explore, the two drove south on Highway 1 towards Big Sur, just as they had done a year prior, in their first two weeks of dating. As they approached Bixby Bridge, Jacy’s heart raced, wondering if the big question was looming ahead. To further confuse Jacy and throw her off the scent, they got out and after one quick picture, Bret said, “Ok, let’s go to another spot.”

This happened not once, not twice, but three times, before they finally approached the final destination - Painter’s Point.

As they parked and began walking the trail to the coastline, Bret’s composure finally started to crack, as the words he had prepared and was holding back were ready to burst through. Bret led us to the place he had chosen, got on one knee, and asked “Jacy Denae, will you marry me?” Tears, laughter, and excitement overcame us both as we saw God’s kindness unfold bringing us to this moment with our best and easiest ‘Yes!’.

Registry

We sincerely thank you for your love, prayers, and generosity! Additional registry items (not listed below) at Ivy House, Dallas:

We sincerely thank you for your love, prayers, and generosity!

Additional registry items (not listed below) at Ivy House, Dallas: