Luke and McKenna's story began on move-in day in the fall of 2019, when they first met as freshmen at SIUE. They both lived on the west wing of the third floor at Bluff Hall. At the time, they had different friend groups, and rarely bumped into each other that first year.

Fast forward to sophomore year, Fall 2020. Both Luke and McKenna moved off-campus to the same apartment complex, called Axis. As fate would have it, they were placed directly across the hall from one another. What started as a coincidence quickly turned into something more. Luke, McKenna, and their roommates became close friends and hung out almost everyday. After spending the whole fall semester as friends, they stopped resisting what was meant to be, and started dating on January 11, 2021.

Three and a half years later, on June 9, 2024, Luke and McKenna were taking graduation pictures in The Gardens at SIUE. In a full-circle moment, Luke proposed on the campus where their journey first began.

Luke and McKenna knew August 16 was the perfect wedding date, as the number 16 carries special meaning to both of them. For McKenna, it’s a number that’s always been present: she was born on December 16, her sister Kaleighna on April 16, her dad David on May 16, her parents' wedding anniversary on July 16, and McKenna's adoption on September 16. For Luke, the significance of the 16th includes his grandma Diana's birthday on February 16, and his great-grandparents' wedding anniversary, which is also on February 16.

As if that wasn’t enough of a coincidence, after getting engaged, Luke and McKenna discovered one more meaningful connection. Luke’s grandparents, Jerry and Diana, had also been married on August 16. With all these ties to the number, Luke and McKenna are overjoyed to share an anniversary with Grandma and Grandpa Ludwig, making their wedding day even more special and full of family tradition.

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