We met in 7th grade art class. Josh sat behind me and was constantly throwing things at me, getting me in trouble whenever he kept talking to me, and making me laugh. One day, Josh wrote me a note and rolled it up. While I was walking in the hallway, he caught up with me and tried to hand it to me. I grabbed it and threw it on the ground because due to his joking nature, I thought it looked like a fake cigarette and he was playing a prank on me to get me in trouble. A few days later, my friend made a comment about him not asking me to homecoming in which he explained the note and how I threw it on the ground. After I got done laughing, I turned around and told him I would in fact go to the dance with him. What can I say? I couldn’t resist that Justin Bieber hair and 12 year old me knew what she liked or so I thought…

When the homecoming dance came around, everything was going great, I had a pretty dress and Josh had the tie to match it! Well, it was going great until we danced to the first slow dance of the night which was “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran (that’s important later), I got nervous and had heard rumors that he was going to try and kiss me. So, I ran away from him mid-dance and hid in the bathroom.

After that homecoming dance, we remained friends throughout high school. According to Josh now, he’s made several attempts to express his infatuation with me over the last 8-9 years but I, of course, was always oblivious to it. After I graduated, we lost touch - minus the occasional texts here and there. Apparently, those texts were Josh still hinting that he had an interest in me…which I didn’t realize those either.

Then in the Summer of 2022, I had moved back to Brown City. Joshua had posted on his snapchat story that him and his best friend Nick were having a bonfire/party. I thought it would be good to reconnect with some old friends so I asked if I could come. He said “I don’t know, can you?” (Ahh every girl’s dream, right? Same old Joshua!)

After that night, we were pretty much inseparable all summer. In all honesty, it was unexpected and I personally thought it was going to be a summer fling especially since he was returning to college in the fall. Sometimes you find love in the most unexpected times and they just last.

Joshua knows me way too well, he knows I’m quite particular and picky. So in the beginning of July, he took me to a jewelry store and told me to pick out a few things that I liked so he would know what to get when he bought me my ring. I wouldn’t know when he bought it or when he would propose so that’s why it was such a surprise that he proposed that same month!

On my birthday, we went out to dinner, we went to see a ballet, we walked around downtown. I made sure we were dressed to the nines whenever we went anywhere just in case he happened to pull out that ring. It wasn’t until Saturday morning (the morning of my 20th birthday) where I decided that he probably wasn’t going to do it that weekend. We ended up going to an Ed Sheeran concert that night. To this day, I still don’t know how he got through security without me seeing the ring? We had a great time during the concert and it was nearing the end. The song I was most excited for began to play and I was absolutely clueless about anything happening around me. Josh had asked someone behind us to record on his phone and sure enough he proposed to “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran (I told you that would be important later!) And oh man, his timing was perfect. You see, he proposed at the end of the song, so when the proposal was said and done, the entire stadium cheered (It was obviously for Ed Sheeran but we like to say it was all for us!) And might I say… as corny as it is… the proposal was PERFECT.

Prior to the proposal we had planned a trip to Punta Cana (this is where I thought he was going to propose.) We celebrated our engagement in the beautiful tropics and I was to move back to Michigan 2 weeks after said trip. During those two weeks of finishing up work, starting wedding planning, and packing to move home, I discovered that I was pregnant the day before Joshua came to bring me back home. It was the most perfect and unexpected blessing we could’ve asked for. Of course, that put our wedding plans on hold. 9 months later, our Henry was born. We grew as people and as a couple. We couldn’t be happier! However, I decided that it was time to take the last name that the two people I love most in the world have and here we are!
-Jenna