We met in chapel at Bob Jones University on February 7, 2022. It was totally random! We had a couple brief conversations after that day, but I (Kara) was completely shocked when Eric messaged me on Instagram asking me out for coffee. We had our first date on February 27 and hit it off. We were fast friends and started hanging out at school more regularly. We officially became a couple on August 15, 2022.

We said I love you for the first time on September 9, 2022. It seemed like the Lord was allowing things to fall into place, and our relationship grew even sweeter than before.


Something I appreciated early on was Erics love for the Lord. On our very first date we exchanged salvation testimonies, and since the time that we became a couple we have been doing devotions together and holding each other accountable. Eric has always been someone I could go to to discuss spiritual things and is good at asking me questions to get me thinking.


We began spending more time together and with our families. We knew pretty early on that marriage was the end goal and prayed that the Lord would continue to guide our steps. We started discussing marriage more seriously after our first year together it became clear that this was where the Lord was leading us.

We got engaged at Ocracoke Island, North Carolina on May 21, 2025, exactly 814 days 7 hours and 45 minutes after our first date. It would be an understatement to say I was surprised.

Eric and I had looked at rings together back in December, but didn't purchase one until mid-April. I had it in my head that we would get engaged on the Townsend family vacation at Ocracoke, but Eric had told me the ring could take up to 2 months to arrive, since we had customized it together and it was from an international store. I took it upon myself to set my expectations of getting engaged at the beach aside. Little did I know that Eric had paid for express shipping.

Eric was very sneaky about the whole thing. The week before our engagement, I caught the bouquet at my cousin's wedding. The day after that, Eric got my dad's blessing to ask for my hand in marriage. On the ferry ride to the island, he asked me if I would prefer getting engaged out in nature or at a nice restaurant. I thought he was referring to a time after the trip, so I said out in nature and listed a couple of nice parks in the Greenville area. We had two date nights planned: a picnic on the beach and a dinner date at a fancy restaurant. What Eric really wanted to know was which date to pop the question.

The day of our engagement, we went clamming and crabbing at the sound. After we got back, we freshened up and Eric told me to dress up so that we could do a photoshoot on the beach like we had the previous year. After getting all dressed up, we went to the store to get food for our picnic. Eric told me that he had gotten us a special dessert at the Sweet Tooth, a local sweet shop.

We had dinner at sunset, and it was the perfect weather. I realized that we were losing light and suggested that we take pictures. Eric replied, "Let's have dessert first." I said, "Okay," and sat back down. But before he pulled the treats from the bag, he began listing all the things I meant to him. I didn't become suspicious until he pulled a ring box out of the bag and popped the question. The first thing I said was, "Is this real?!" After assuring me that this was in fact real, I, of course, said yes!

We are so grateful for the Lord directing our paths and allowing us to have such a wonderful love story. We are so excited to share our story with others and celebrate with friends and family on our wedding day!