In June of 2015, we both went on a mission trip to Chicago through Wooddale church. For the first time, we were formally introduced on the bus ride there, but we had known of each other for a much longer period of time. We ended up both serving on the children’s team which led to time where we were able to continue getting to know each other. The trip eventually ended and a week or so later, Katie got a text from Jake wondering if she would be attending the high school summer camp. From that day forward, we were talking everyday and started seeing each other more often. On August 8, 2015, while on a date at Mall of America, Jake asked Katie if she would be his girlfriend. She very excitedly said yes.



Since starting our relationship, we have taken on our Junior and Senior year of high school together. During this time, we went to Guatemala together on a mission trip with church. In Senior year, after a college touring trip in Arizona, we made the decision to go to Grand Canyon University together. We loved getting to finally have a shared friend group as we had gone to different high schools. We did lots of traveling while completing our degrees, continuing to grow our relationship and build connections with friends we will now have in our lives for forever. In April 2021, we both completed our Bachelor of Science degrees in Business Management and by May we both had full time jobs. Through the many years our love has continued to grow in many ways. We are so thankful for each other and would not know what to do if we didn’t have our other half.

On August 8, 2020, we were celebrating five years of dating. Jake had planned a special day for the two of us as we hadn't been able to do much lately due to the pandemic. We started off in Minneapolis having a picnic lunch on the river and then moved on to Purgatory Park next, which is a large park near Katie’s house, with lots of walking trails. There we walked to a spot full of blooming wild flowers and sat on a bench in the middle of them all. Jake had three gifts, the first being a blank picture frame (to be used for dried flowers from the moment) which in the corner said “Stand Up”, the second was a string/painted board that said “Close your Eyes”, the third being Jake on one knee with an engagement ring in hand. Jake gave Katie the biggest smile she had ever seen from him as he said “Will you marry me?!”. Katie is already tearing up and beyond excited to say YES. Shortly after proposing, our best friends who flew in from Arizona and drove up from St. Olaf jumped out of the wild flowers for an extra surprise to Katie. Then from the other direction came Suzy & Katie’s puppy, Juniper. Katie was shocked & thrilled to see all her best friends and family there to celebrate. From the park we all went back to Jake’s house to join his family and celebrate being engaged. We are now planning away to have a hopefully Covid free wedding where we will finally get to see all of you & celebrate with the people we love so much!!