We met for the first time during our junior year of high school through a mutual friend from Ethan's youth group at the Risen Savior (now the church we’re getting married at!). We spent our senior year attending each other's sporting events and growing a friendship. Ethan asked Riley to her senior homecoming dance—with a sign that had a word misspelled and a single rose—and her crush on him never went away.

Both Ethan and Riley enrolled at the University of Minnesota in 2015 after graduating from Apple Valley and Lakeville North high schools. Ski-U-Mah! During the fall semester of our freshman year without planning it—our lunch hours lined up and we were able to share a meal together at one of the U’s six dining halls on campus. Very quickly, 1:10-2:00 pm became the best part of our days. Ethan officially asked Riley to be his girlfriend shortly after that winter holiday break ended, while skating at an outdoor hockey rink. The rest of our college years were filled with gopher football games, studying, and working while our relationship grew into something bigger, and in May of 2019 Ethan received his degree in biology and Riley her nursing degree.

Throughout our relationship we have grown a love for spending time at Ethan's family cabin in Bayfield, WI. On December 13th, 2020, we spent our Sunday morning celebrating mass before heading into town to grab coffee. It was a cold morning and Ethan tried convincing Riley to go walk down by the water and check out one of the stores. Riley told Ethan, “You know that store is never open in the winter.” Ethan insisted we check it out, and letting go of her resistance, Riley agreed. Before reaching the water Ethan led Riley into the gazebo and got down on one knee. With Lake Superior as their background, Riley said yes to life with Ethan. Our take away from our engagement was simple: we love this life together and are looking forward to all our days to come!