According to Claire, our story begins in the 7th grade when she caught glimpse of Jake at a recreational softball game. She (supposedly) had a crush ever since then. We became good friends in high school and got especially close at the end of senior year. When Jake asked Claire to Senior Prom, we had no idea our relationship would turn romantic until it did. We officially started "dating" three days before high school graduation, already having known we'd go our separate ways in college (Jake to Vanderbilt University, Claire to Saint Louis University).

We had such a fun summer together that we couldn't see an ending in sight, so we made the decision to try out long distance dating. This began 8 long years of navigating unique challenges, including making new friends, adjusting to new cities, and studying countless hours for exams.

We never lost sight of each other, continuing to look toward the future. We visited each other every possible moment, taking fun trips during school breaks and enjoying downtime in Missouri during holidays. In June of 2023, we finally found an opportunity to start our "forever." We are beyond excited to celebrate with our family and friends on June 1st, 2024!