Our story begins when we were in middle school (yes, middle school!). We met through a mutual friend on a Google Meet in November 2016. Mazie was the only one on the call who wasn’t from St. Ansgar, and we added each other on Snapchat that night. We sent Snapchats back and forth and occasionally FaceTimed, where Sage would tell “dad jokes” and try to keep the conversation going by showing Mazie all the random knickknacks in his room—like Nerf guns, bowling pins, and treasure chests. Sage says, “It was very entertaining,” but Mazie might disagree, haha!

In February 2017, we met for the very first time at the Embassy Suites in Des Moines while both attending state wrestling for our older siblings. As much as Sage was willing to talk to Mazie on FaceTime months before, he suddenly wanted nothing to do with her in person and would make a beeline in the opposite direction whenever he saw her in the hotel halls.

Months later, during high school football season, we met again after the St. Ansgar/West Hancock football game and took our very first picture together on October 13, 2017. A couple of weeks later, on October 28, 2017, we went on our very first “date” to the Mason City movie theatre. Neither of us could drive yet—we were just freshmen in high school—so our moms had to drive us to Mason City for the movie (thanks, Mariah and Sara, lol!). After that first date, we dated a couple of times in high school for a few months, but ultimately went our separate ways during our sophomore year.

After high school graduation, Mazie went on to attend Iowa State University to become a teacher, and Sage attended Morningside University to play football. We both completed our first year of college when Sage decided to transfer to Iowa State to major in Agricultural Studies.

In December 2022, we reconnected after an accidental run-in at Boulder Tap House in Ames the month before. We were now both in the same town—not over an hour apart—which made it easy to reconnect and finally get to know each other in the same place and stage of life. What started as catching up soon turned into spending nearly all our time together, and before we knew it, we were building a life side by side—eventually moving in together during our last years in college.

As time went on, it became clear that being together just felt right. We supported each other through busy semesters, new routines, and all the ups and downs of college life. Somehow, after all the twists and turns since that first Google Meet call in middle school, we found our way back to each other.

On June 14, 2025, Sage proposed next to the Cedar River in Mitchell, Iowa, with our families at a nearby bar and grill awaiting our arrival to celebrate. Mazie said yes, of course! Now, after years of crossed paths, middle school jokes, movie dates our moms had to drive us to, and a lot of growing up, we are so excited to get married and celebrate this next chapter with all of you.