Our story sounds about as 21st century as it gets. Pat and I were paired in the wedding for our best friends, Lucas and Katie Read. Rather than waiting until the wedding, Pat took the wise advice of Lucas and slid into my DMs in January 2021.

From that point on, long distance began. Pat and I texted daily and Facetimed weekly. On February 25, we call this our first date. Per Pat, this was the Facetime call where he knew I was serious as I told him I wanted to come visit him while he was at TBS in Quantico. On Easter weekend, we met for our first time in-person in Columbus, Ohio, which was our halfway point between Milwaukee, Wisconsin (where I lived) and Quantico, Virginia (where Pat lived). It was there that we realized we wanted to really pursue this relationship.

After several moves for the both of us and traveling back and forth to see each other, we started to grow closer with each other's families and spent the holidays in Albany, Georgia, and Memphis, Tennessee. Starting shortly after the New Year, we began to realize that a DM slide was turning into seeing a future with one another.

In April 2022, Pat started getting the ball rolling and asked my dad and family for their blessing to marry me. Exactly one year from when Pat met my family for the first time, Pat asked me to marry him at Shelby Farms in Memphis, Tennessee. I surprisingly had absolutely NO idea but it was the best surprise of my life. Pat's parents drove up and he was able to get my family and some of my closest friends together to celebrate our engagement.

Now, Pat and I are stationed in San Diego, California, and planning the wedding of our dreams with our sweet pup, Tank! We can't wait to share this day with all of you.