MIDDLE SCHOOL

Going way back to middle school, Cole Johnson was the cool kid that didn't go to public school like the rest of us. However, he was best friends with Jake Brown (Groomsman), who happened to be Skyler's next door neighbor. Skyler would see Cole around all the time (most notably at the Stone Meadow pool), and she definitely developed a crush on the "cool kid from Greenwood". But at the time, every girl in Skyler's friend group at Cherokee Middle School ALSO had a crush on Cole. Skyler can remember a time their entire friend group (including Bridesmaids Kennedy Heeren, Kaelyn Faria, and Amanda Heslin) were having a sleepover at Kennedy's house, and the girls jealously discovered they were all texting Cole at the same time. They then realized that he was copying & pasting the same responses to each of them, with the exception of Kennedy, who he was actually having a conversation with. (Thanks, Kennedy for eventually letting me have him!) Skyler can also recall holiday spent sharing an air mattress with her cousin, Lauren, in their grandparent's basement where they would stay up all night talking about Cole and messaging him on Kik Messenger (yes, throwback because Skyler was the loser whose parents didn't let her get a phone until she was 13). But eventually, Skyler realized Cole wanted nothing to do with her awkward, 13-year old brace-face self!

HIGH SCHOOL

Fast forward a few years to sophomore year of high school, where Cole, Skyler, and Jackson Auer (Groomsman) had nearly ever class together and became the best of friends. Skyler decided to shoot her shot once more by asking Cole to the LPA dance in January 2015. Cole said yes, but wasn't ready to start a relationship yet. So a few months later during that summer when Cole started showing interest in Skyler again, she was extremely wary. Finally, at a party at Kaelyn's lake house in August, Cole stayed up until 5am confessing his love for Skyler. They were already best friends, so they decided to give it a shot and officially began dating on August 30th, 2015!

& THE REST IS HISTORY...

Skyler & Cole continued to date throughout the remainder of high school, making countless memories with lifelong friends (some of who stand by their side at their wedding today - Chandler, Jackson, Jake, Amanda, Kaelyn & Kennedy). While it was difficult, they managed to make long distance work throughout college while Cole played soccer at Maryville University in St. Louis and Skyler stayed close to home at Missouri State. They broke up for a semester during their sophomore year of college, but ultimately the time apart made them even more confident that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. After college, they both moved up to Kansas City where Cole attended UMKC School of Dentistry. After a year or so in KC together, Skyler's job moved her to Phoenix for a year. While doing long distance again was hard, it made them appreciate each other more and brought along a lot of fun adventures when Cole would visit Skyler over his breaks (including trips to San Diego, hiking in Utah, visiting Flagstaff & Sedona, and even just exploring Phoenix). Fortunately, in fall of 2022, Skyler's job allowed her to move back to KC where they bought their first home. Together, they made incredible memories with some of their best friends, including celebrating not one, but two Chiefs Super Bowl wins, way too many late nights at the Levee, and lots of Catan (although Cole still maintains the lowest win-record*). *Cole would like to add that this is still up for debate; he believes his Catan win record is higher than Jordyn's (Bridesmaid).

On August 25, 2023, Cole absolutely shocked Skyler by proposing at their family-friend's resort, Serenity Shores, on Table Rock Lake. Skyler thought Cole was going on his annual dental school float trip, and begrudgingly decided to make the 3-hour trip from KC down to the lake to meet up with her family for a "chill" weekend. (Shoutout to Chandler for driving Skyler to the lake, otherwise, she would not have gone!) After Skyler's mom received a call from Steve Faria that there was an "emergency" on the dock that we needed to check on, Skyler rushed down only to find the dock lined with candles and roses. Then, she found Cole on one knee (while also trying to keep Oakley from pulling him and the ring into the lake). Skyler was so surprised she couldn't say anything besides "what is happening?!" Well, and then she said yes of course. To her next surprise, they went back up to the house only to find all of their best friends and family inside waiting to celebrate with them. The rest of the weekend was spent on the lake, playing lots of sand volleyball, and making memories that has truly made their engagement weekend one of the best weekends of their lives.

They've recently embarked on their newest adventure in Highland Park, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago). Cole is excited to serve as a Dentist in the United States Navy, while Skyler's job has been kind enough to allow her to work remote (which means lots of time with Oakley).

So after 8 long years of dating, and now 9 years as a couple, they are eager to get married and begin the greatest chapter of their lives!