Back in 2019, Jase noticed Olivia on the first day of band camp at Central High School. After about three months, he finally gathered the nerve to talk to her. An entire year of touch-and-go friendship and a global pandemic later, Jase asked Olivia out on a date.

After that date, we became inseparable. Every band practice, football game, and concert was spent together when we weren't performing. Long drives, McDonald's trips, and frequent movie theater dates became our norm. We went to three proms and two homecomings together. Can't say we regret spending some of our most fundamental years together.

After high school, we realized we had A LOT of growing up to do. We both threw ourselves into full-time college and part-time jobs. It was, and still is, an extremely busy time for us. But we choose to believe that we are learning how to prioritize each other and function like an adult couple. Our new adult experiences include getting our wisdom teeth removed, using back-and-forth Facebook reels as a major communication method, very quickly discovering that we are not party people, incorporating nap and study dates, graduating from community college, getting our degrees in our respective fields, and actually enjoying formal dinner dates.

What started as Olivia's belated birthday date turned into one of the best days of our lives. After a movie at the LORY theater, Jase took us to Silver Lake Park to "wait for our friends," who we were having dinner with later that evening. We decided to walk near the lake since our friends "were running late." As we came up to a gazebo, Jase pulled Olivia in and got down on one knee to pop the question. Teary-eyed and laughing, Olivia said yes. Our friends who "were running late" had actually been there the whole time and photographed the whole thing. It was absolutely perfect.

Throughout this engagement, we've often talked about what 15 and 16-year-old us would say. And we think they'd be so proud of us for accomplishing everything they dreamed of.

We can’t wait to celebrate with the people who have been part of our story along the way. Thank you for sharing this moment with us—we are so excited for what’s ahead.