Many of you, have probably already heard our charming re- telling of our story. For those who don't know - the first time I had seen Eric.... I made the decision to keep a ten foot pole between us!

Going back to August of 2016, I was sitting in my morning Biology course located in the heart of the building. As in....you had to walk pretty far indoors to get to our classroom. This is an important little detail when recounting first impressions lol. If you know me, you probably could guess that I'm already sitting up front with my notebook out, sipping on my MUCH needed coffee and watching my classmates come in. This is well intentioned first day motivation at it's prime... that starts to slip closer to the exact minute class starts as the semester creeps on ( cue laughing face emoji)

When Eric walks into class, despite being good looking ( winking emoji) - I notice that he's in sweats that he very well could have been wearing the day before, has a tall silver mug that you can't see through, and IS STILL WEARING SUNGLASSES. He moves to sit in the very back of the classroom. Now I ask- Can I really be blamed? I totally thought he was hungover, and not taking the first day of classes seriously. He must have been some good looking popular dude who's mom and dad is forcing him to pursue a higher education- final first impression. That said, as class goes on and the teacher is gauging what we know and where to start... I'm raising my hand to answer questions I know LIKE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO - and sunglasses dude is is literally calling. out. every. single. answer. without. even. looking. at. the. teacher.

My response is clear surprise- does no one follow rules anymore?! That said, I probably need to reconsider my first impression. Clearly this boy has the looks, and the brain- but does he have the heart? The more I got to learn about Eric, the more I found myself looking to see if he was laughing at the same jokes the teacher would tell. The more I found myself looking to see if he was on campus. The more I fell in love with his heart, sense of humor, and just general positivity that he spreads to those all around him. Nothing has really changed - I still look to see if my best friend is laughing with me.

SO- Dear reader, I guess the take away is don't judge a book by it's cover because you never know if they might be your soulmate. I can't wait to marry my first love, best friend, and partner. I'm so glad that we will be able to share that moment with all of you!

Where do I begin? Well, this all started at Saint Charles Community College. I was in Biology 101 lecture in the back of the class, sitting with a few guys. In my line of sight to our professor was this blonde girl with an amazing smile. I couldn’t help but look at her when our professor cracked a corny science joke, she was gorgeous. Although our eyes met a few times during lecture, I was too nervous to approach her that semester. But, when she got the last remaining seat in my Biology 102 class, I knew I had to at least try to talk to her or I was officially the world’s biggest chicken. After tricking her to give me her phone number for “study help” and only talking about anything else, it was hard not to fall for her. She was ambitious, thoughtful, caring, smart, stunning, and stubborn. She was perfect. I was still a little nervous to ask her out because I wanted to know for sure that she had felt the same way. After learning that she shared these feelings, the rest was history.

After hundreds of lunch dates, adventures, and even more time together, it was clear that I hadn’t just gained a girlfriend, but a best friend. Savannah constantly made me smile, laugh, and lose track of time when we were together. Some of my best memories with Savannah include anything from drawing pictures on her lecture notes to going on short walks during our lunch breaks at school. Through our time at UMSL together and preparing for graduate school, Savannah was always right there by my side. Although our time together turned into more study dates than anything, I wouldn’t trade a second of it.

Two dogs and two graduate school acceptance emails later, and here we are. These past few years in KC have been full of highs, lows, and countless nights of getting 4 hours of sleep (or less sometimes). But, I couldn’t have done it without my best friend by my side. I’ve learned that one of the most important things in life is not only marrying your best friend, but having a true partner and soulmate in that same person. I know our life together will be a journey full of those big life events, and we are so excited to share this big life event with all of you!