We starting dating at the beginning of our senior year of high school. We went to a football game together as a casual hangout. Our first date after the football game was at JP's (now Ferris Coffee) in Holland.

Senior Year prom

Holland Christian High School Graduation

We continued dating into our first year of college. Clay went off to Ferris State University in northern Michigan and Mariah went down to Chicago to Trinity Christian college. We did the long distance thing, and visited each other whenever we could!

We both started our sophomore year of college as RA's (Resident Assistants) at our respective colleges. It was a rough year. Being RA's took a toll on both of us and our relationship. In the spring of 2018 we broke up and decided that we needed to figure out who we were apart from each other.

Our story picks back up again after spending a year apart. Mariah went off and spent a semester in Spain while Clay was in his junior year of college and coming home to work on the weekends. When Mariah got back from Spain she knew that Clay was it for her.

We knew that we had to be sure if we were going to start dating again. We didn't want to jump into anything that we weren't serious about. We started talking seriously about marriage and what the future would hold. At the time, we were both into our senior year of college. Mariah was applying to grad schools while Clay was applying for jobs.

On February 22, 2020 Mariah suffered an aortic dissection that resulted in a 2 week ICU stay in Chicago right before COVID hit. Clay didn't leave the hospital other than to shower and take quick naps. Something in our relationship changed during that hospital stay. It brought us together in ways no other experience could. We were an inseparable team.

We both graduated college during COVID and were excited for what was next. Clay got a job at Dykgraaf Excavating and Mariah was off to the University of Illinois at Chicago for grad school.

Clay proposed the day after Christmas and Mariah was so surprised!

Mariah started her final year of grad school in Chicago (finally having in-person classes) and Clay continues working at Dykgraaf Excavating in Holland.

We bought a house in Zeeland! We can't wait to start our lives together here! Clay is currently living in the house with a buddy while Mariah is in Chicago.

WE CAN'T WAIT TO CELEBRATE WITH YOU!