On a January night in 2012, a group of friends convinced Riley, a freshman at UNC , to join them for dinner before a semi-formal dance put on by the campus ministry Cru. At the restaurant 411 West, he happened to sit across the table from Natalie, a fellow freshman whom he had never met before.

The two didn't see each other very often the first year after meeting, but that began to change during the Christmas season of their sophomore year. On December 22, 2012, they went ice skating in Charlotte with some UNC friends. As the majority of the group collectively circled around the rink, Riley and Natalie lagged behind, skating side by side. And, well, you could say that was when Riley "caught feels."

After returning to UNC the following semester, Riley, willing to do anything to spend time with Natalie, started running with her (an activity he had "sworn off of" after his high school football and track careers had ended). Late-night running adventures soon turned into sorority and fraternity functions, dinner dates, and studying with each other (again, an activity Riley wasn't too fond of) as often as possible. Over the next two and a half years, the town of Chapel Hill became more and more special to them--not just because of the beautiful campus, the great restaurants, or even the basketball games, but because of multitude of memories they made there together.

So it's no wonder that on December 21, 2015 (just a day shy of the three year anniversary of the night they went ice skating), Riley proposed to Natalie in the Arboretum, a botanical garden at the heart of UNC's campus. We reflect on our past adventures and eagerly anticipate the upcoming journey of marriage. Thank you for supporting us all along. We can't wait to celebrate with you on July 30!

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