"Trystan and I met in first grade at Foust Elementary. I remember his long bleach-blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and big mischievous smile. In third grade, he went to a gumball toy machine, inserted a quarter, and won a plastic ring. He came to school the next day with the ring and proposed to me. I said no and told on him, which got him in trouble. Little did I know he would propose to me a decade later. We went to different middle schools, and honestly, I didn't think much about him. In high school, he tried to reach back out to me, to which he was then blocked because I was in a relationship at the time. Even though he was blocked, he never gave up on me. (What can I say ladies and gents? He must've really loved me.) When he got news that my relationship ended, he immediately started talking to me again. I gave him a chance this time, and I am so glad I did. We were best friends throughout his military training and started dating shortly after he was stationed at Fort Campbell. We dated through multiple field training events and even a 9-month deployment. About a year after he got back from deployment, he proposed to me and the rest is history. I wouldn't trade anything that we share for the world."-Lauren

"Lauren and I met on our first day of first grade. Her mom, my previous kindergarten teacher, introduced me to her. I had liked her from the moment I saw her. Throughout elementary school, all of the boys had a crush on her. We went to different middle and high schools, but she remained in the back of my mind. One day I found her on Instagram and tried to start talking to her, but she blocked me due to her being in a relationship. While in training for the military I learned that her relationship had ended, so I decided to message her again. To my surprise, we started talking and when I returned home from holiday leave, we went on our first date. After a few dates, I asked her to be my girlfriend, to which she said yes. Shortly after we started dating, I was deployed to Europe. She decided to stay by my side through those challenging 9-months and that made me realize I wanted her to be my wife. I received permission from her parents and bought her a ring- I wanted to give it to her immediately but I had to wait. When I got back from a field event, I couldn't wait any longer so I proposed. Little did I know that the biggest crush from my childhood would become my wife."-Trystan