Once upon a time—or is that too corny to say? No, it can’t be, not when Disney is the whole reason Brian and I found each other— in the fall of 2023, both Brian and I decided to download a silly little Christian dating app. I downloaded it on a whim, not expecting to find anybody or go on any real dates. Brian downloaded it looking for love (his words, I promise.) Neither Brian nor I talked to very many people on this app (in fact, he was the only person I talked to on this app!) But we happened to match very quickly and began texting almost immediately. I remember thinking his profile was so goofy, all the emojis and funny selfies. But what hooked me was his genuine responses and interest in what I was saying. It was like we’d known each other for years. Brian will tell you the thing that hooked him was the weird animal facts I randomly would slip into conversations, the very first one being about Wildebeest (yeah, I can’t remember why I had to bring that up.)

I was in the middle of my Disney College Program working at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I wasn’t always the best texter, and many times I thought Brian might give up or stop caring. He never did. His patience was one of the biggest green flags a person could find in the dating world. It didn’t take long for me to realize this guy was something special, something different. Both Brian and I deleted the dating app before we even met in person for the first time, communicating only through text messages, phone calls, and FaceTime calls. We planned a date within weeks of meeting each other online. Unfortunately, COVID-19 found its way into my apartment, and I got sick, delaying our first date by at least two more weeks. So instead, in place of the original date we had planned, we Facetimed, watched Ratatouille, and ate Mac and Cheese from the comfort of our own beds. Fast forward a few weeks, and we meet in person for the first time. Brian picks me up from my apartment, the nerves had set in, and I wasn’t doing much talking. I remember wondering if he could tell I was nervous. I was trying so hard to be natural, but he looked so good, and smelled so good, and had the most adorable laugh. (Answer to that question: he could tell. I didn’t hide it well. The forehead sweat really blew my cover.) He drove us to Disney Springs as we had originally planned, and we were going to get ice cream and walk around, maybe do some shopping. It was a fairly busy day, so we were forced to drive to the very top of the parking structure. On the way over, we started what must have been a very interesting conversation. I can only assume this because once we parked, we didn’t immediately hop out of the car. Before we knew it, the sun had set, and the ice cream shop we wanted to eat at closed. It didn’t feel right to end the date, so we drove to McDonald's and stayed out until the early morning just talking. Weeks later, at McDonald's, Brian officially asked me to be his girlfriend. The location felt fitting since our first date was at a McDonald's. Brian told me that day that we were only going up from there, and we had so much to look forward to together. Since then, we’ve gone on so many wonderful dates and adventures. We find ourselves spending many days and dates together at theme parks, mainly Disney World. We love the thrill of going on rides together and the excitement theme parks bring us. Magic Kingdom has been our favorite date spot since our very first date there. (We go back over and over, so it only seems fitting that we took most of our engagement pictures within Magic Kingdom.) (It was magical.) We’ve traveled and continued to love each other more every single day.

In January of 2024, I moved back home to San Diego since my College Program ended and in hopes of going back to school. Brian and I did long distance during this time. It wasn’t long before I realized I didn’t want to live far from him. Being so far was just too difficult. I worked for the next 7 months to save up enough money to move back out to Florida to be with him. We got a small apartment together in Orlando and have been living together since. I started working for Disney again and have a goal of eventually going back to college. Brian has been chasing goals and career dreams, and finally decided to chase a very big dream, joining the military. This has been something he’s been considering for a very long time, but now it feels like the perfect path to begin walking down together. Brian’s going to be leaving for basic training in August, hoping to begin a career in cybersecurity and technology. I feel so blessed and so lucky to get to support Brian and walk through this new journey with him. I have a very good feeling this shift in his career is going to be a blessing for both of us and the future we are creating together.

On March 14th of this year, on our magical Disney vacation, Brian held my hand, got down on one knee, and asked me to spend forever with him. It was the easiest "yes" of my life and the most perfect moment. I've dreamed of that moment since I was a little girl, and it was more magical than I ever dreamed it could have been. This leads us to where we are today, having the most exciting day of our lives!

With all of these big changes happening in our lives, I am so excited to experience it all alongside Brian as his wife.

We’re not sure where we will be by the end of this year, but so many new doors are being opened, and this new chapter is one we are both looking forward to very much.

We are so blessed to have you all a part of our lives and are so thankful to get to share this day in our love story with you. We can't wait to share more of our adventures with you! Thank you for sharing all the magic of this day with us! We love you!

♡ - The Bride and Groom

Thank you for helping us complete our home!