It's hard to say when exactly Lauren and Joseph met. They grew up in the same neighborhood, went to the same elementary school and junior highs, but freshman year of high school is the milestone that stands out as when they became actual friends instead of just acquaintances.

Joseph and Lauren have band to thank for bringing them into the same circle of friends. All of the long afternoons staying after school to rehearse, playing at football games, and spending most of their fall Saturdays at band competitions helped to lay a foundation of friendship that would eventually grow into something more.

The summer after they graduated high school, Joseph informed Lauren that he had a crush on her and would like to date her. Lauren was hesitant to move forward with the relationship because she was going to college at Texas A&M, and Joseph was going to be an hour and a half away at the University of Houston. She shut him down, saying that she thought they were better off as friends and should begin college with an open mind, but Joseph would not accept that response. He spent the next six months pursuing Lauren. He would constantly text to check in on her and would FaceTime her occasionally as well. Eventually, Lauren could tell that Joseph had an incredibly kind and genuine heart and prompted Joseph to ask her on a date again so that this time, she could say yes.

Joseph and Lauren dated long distance in college for 4 years, visiting each other essentially every weekend while in school. After graduating, Lauren moved to San Antonio for work while Joseph remained in Houston to finish his degree. After dating for another six months long distance, this time with 3 hours in between them, Joseph again took initiative, moving to San Antonio and opting to finish his degree online so that he could finally be close to Lauren.

March 11, 2023

Earlier in the week, Joseph had offered to plan a surprise date for Lauren, only revealing a small portion of what he had planned: at some point in the day, they would be going to a park that Joseph had "only heard about". This park supposedly had an amazing tower that you could climb to the top of to get a beautiful view of the hill country.

Joseph picked Lauren up around lunch time and they headed to a surprise lunch destination in Boerne. After lunch, they spent hours shopping around downtown Boerne, while Joseph would constantly remind Lauren that they needed to get to the park around 4 o'clock. Finally, around 4:30, they made it back to the car and headed towards the park. They parked, and began walking without looking at the map or planning which path they would take (weird). It was an incredibly hot day for March with temps in the 90s, and Lauren was ready to go home. She was tired of wandering around this huge park looking for this tower with a view that didn't seem to exist. She begged Joseph to give up and head home, but right at that moment, a sign appeared, indicating that the tower was just around the corner. As they approached, it was apparent what this day was leading to.

After 5 years of dating, they could finally start the countdown to the beginning of forever.