We've known of each other for 8 whole years before we started getting to know each other. In fact, we lived exactly 3 houses away from each other that whole time too. We'd see each other walk through high school (never having the same classes), wave to each other on the street as one of us drove by, and even went to the same college where we would see each other occasionally as we passed. From 2014 to 2021, we had just been waving buddies. In May of 2022, Sarah transferred to Florida Atlantic University and moved back home. Right after that, (over Instagram of course) Jace asked Sarah if she wanted to go see a movie. Thankfully she said yes, because now they are getting married.

We started dating soon after that. Our dates consisted of mini golf, the zoo, the science museum, ice skating, and cookie making. We became official boyfriend and girlfriend on July 17th 2022, which just so happened to be national ice cream day. If you know, you know. Once we started dating we both knew that this was it. We continued going on little adventures and doing crafts together.

In December of 2022, we went on our first trip together. We visited our friends who had just moved to Erwin, Tennessee. Some of our other activities while dating included going to the South Florida Fair, Reptile Show, Morikami Japanese Gardens, The Eras Tour in Tampa, fishing at the neighborhood canal, and Mounts Botanical Gardens. We ended up visiting our friends in Erwin again in August of 2023. During that trip we went hiking at Red Fork Falls (note the location).

We absolutely love nature and almost any outdoor activity. Florida provided us with many nature trails that were sandy along the inlet and sandy but along the swamp. The more we got into hiking Florida’s trails the more we got into nature photography. For a few months every Sunday, we would go on a new trail and see what animals we could photograph. This was our outdoor therapy, getting away from the busyness that engulfed the town we lived in. We looked forward to it every single week.

Sarah was finishing college at Florida Atlantic University and we wanted to move in together after she graduated, so we started looking at where to move. Staying in Florida wasn’t something that either of us wanted to do, we had our fill of the hot weather, flat ground, and rude towngoers. We looked into moving to Tennessee since our friends and some of our relatives were located nearby. We found a great little house to rent in Erwin, only 5 minutes from our friends and applied right away. We became renters! Everything fell into place.

Once Sarah graduated in August of 2024, we packed up everything we had and hauled it to Erwin in September (with Jace’s parents help, there was a lot of stuff). We unpacked everything in 2 days and began hiking, exploring vintage stores, hanging out with our friends, and visiting relatives right away. A few months later we both found jobs and settled into our new life. It’s exactly what we were looking for.

We continued hiking while adjusting to our new life. We went to Pinnacle Mountain and looked out at the Fire Tower, parts of the Appalachian Trail close to Erwin along the Nolichucky, Carvers Gap on Roan Mountain, and a few trails at Buffalo Mountain in Johnson City. We just can’t get enough.

May of 2024, Jace decided that we should go hiking with our friends at Red Fork Falls since we haven’t been there in a while. We get ready and head out just like any other hike. As we walk along the trail and cross streams, Jace has our friend take pictures in various picturesque places. Our friend took a few goofy pictures, then told us that the next picture is going to be serious. Sarah looks over at Jace to see what he’s going to do and Jace then gets down on one knee and holds out a ring and asks Sarah, “Will you marry me?” and Sarah with her completely shocked face hugged Jace and said, “Yes!” We finished the hike with pure bliss and delight. On the way home we stopped at Scott’s in Unicoi for some ice cream to celebrate. Afterwards we called our families and told them the happy news.

Since then, we’ve visited the Pettifors in Palm Beach Gardens FL, acquired two guinea pigs that we absolutely adore, gone on a few more adventures, spent time with the Wilsons in Madison AL, and started planning our wedding. We are excited to see what the future holds!