We met during our time at Wartburg College. Derek played left tackle for the Knights, while Jas was a cheerleader on the sidelines. We socialized in similar groups and would see each other in passing on campus, but nothing came about until Wartburg homecoming in 2022.

That night, Derek decided to reach out to Jas after seeing a picture of her celebrating a Wartburg win on social media with her past college roommates. Encouraged by her friends, Jas responded back to the message and the rest was history!

Soon after that initial reach out, Derek asked Jas out on an official date. We had an amazing conversation that we talked through our planned dinner reservation. Instead, we continued chatting at Jas' townhouse while eating a frozen pizza and a drinking couple of white claws.

After that first date, we continued seeing each other as often as possible to the point where we didn't want to spend time away from one another. We officially started dating in February 2023, where we celebrated at our favorite restaurant- The Goldfinch in Marion, IA.

By July of 2023, Jas moved to Maquoketa where we enjoyed every second together living together. Then in February of that following year, 2024, we found a place to call home in Anamosa, IA, where we now reside at today!

On July 1st, 2024, Derek scheduled that Monday night for an impromptu date with Jas at our favorite restaurant- The Goldfinch in Marion, IA. We met at the restaurant to start our date night, where Jas had a hunch the big question was coming. After a couple drinks and a meal, we followed each other back to our home in Anamosa, where Jas was surprised with a decorated home of pictures and flowers (Thank you, Allison & Luke)!

Through many tears of joy, Derek got down on one knee to ask Jas the question he had been thinking about since the night they had the frozen pizza and white claws. Then through even more tears of joy, Jas said YES! We celebrated with friends and a surprise photoshoot of our engagement.

We are so blessed and grateful for all the love we have received during this exciting time! We can't wait to celebrate with all of you and start our marriage with the ones we love most.

A special thank you to:

-Our Parents & Siblings for being our supporters through our relationship

-Allison & Luke Sweeney for setting up the Engagement

-Kennedy, Colton, Mady, Beau, & baby Scarlett for celebrating the engagement and making the trip to Anamosa

-Blue Creek Creative for the beautiful engagement photos that we will cherish for years to come

-And to the many family & friends who play an important role in our lives, we can't thank you enough!