Lillian's version:

Douglas and I knew each other in high school, but we never spent time together until college. I was Douglas’s tutor for several classes (believe it or not!) As we began hanging out more, we both realized that we were meant to be more than just friends.

As time went on, things got more serious between me and Douglas. Over the course of our relationship, we have endured so much together. I jokingly refer to a portion of our relationship as the “three C’s”: college, COVID, and cancer. All three of these phases somehow intertwined to create mass chaos in our lives. Despite all the chaos, Douglas and I came out on the other side stronger than ever.

Each phase we have gone through in our relationship has served a purpose (although we didn’t see it during the moment.) Our time in college was meant for fun and enjoying being together. COVID was a time when most of our time spent together was through a phone screen. Cancer was a time when all we could do was lean on each other for support. All these chapters had peaks and valleys that made us into the couple we are today. I could not be more grateful to have a partner like Douglas to spend the rest of my life with. We are so excited to celebrate our wedding with you all!

Douglas’s version:

Lillian and I started off as friends, going to class together and studying. One night, everything changed when she posted a Luke Combs concert ticket for sale. After I bought the ticket and went to the show with her, everything changed.

After that night, Lillian and I quickly realized we weren’t going to last as just friends. A few months later and a lot of hanging out, we started officially dating. It was the best times in college together until I got the news I was diagnosed with cancer.

Lillian supported me through my treatment the whole way, driving me to and from Fayetteville, helping me manage my side effects, and being there always to lean on. She stayed with me through the worst phase of my life and helped me come out a better person on the other end.

I realized that I didn’t want to be without Lillian in my life and decided on a cancer victory trip to Italy that I was going to propose and make her mine forever! Luckily she said yes! Now I get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend.