Tyler and Alli met August of 2022 volunteering during Abilene Christian University's orientation week for new students (Wildcat Week). Alli quickly noticed how helpful and energetic Tyler was to the whole group, and Tyler noticed a girl who was way too good for him (his words). Alli was also full of energy, jokes, and had the heart of a servant-leader. So naturally, he had the urge to figure out who this Alli girl was.

After Wildcat Week was over and the 2022 school year started, Alli wanted to lead a Community Bible Study group with the same group of students she got to know during orientation week. There was so much interest in the group that the Chapel Office at ACU recommended she have another person lead with her. Robert Lopez de Castilla (from the Chapel Office) knew Tyler previously because he interned at the church Tyler's Dad is a preaching minister at (CARE Church Richardson). Robert put both Tyler and Alli in a group chat and connected them so they could lead together.

Both Tyler and Alli figured they should get to know each other better before leading a group of students, so they started what would be the first of many coffee shop outings. The first outing was at Summer Moon Coffee in Abilene, TX where they talked and laughed for hours. They became fast friends. Tyler was astounded at Alli's heart for the Lord, her drive for success, and the pace at which they talked with one another. Alli had so much fun because she had never met a person who could keep up with her fast paced caffeine fueled talking, much less talk back at the same pace!

After getting coffee, they began leading the Community Bible Study group, started to hang out more regularly, and met each other's friends. Somewhere between August and October, both Tyler and Alli realized the friendship might be something more. Their first date was on October 31st, and after a month of going on dates, Tyler asked Alli to be his girlfriend on December 2nd, 2022.

They made many memories in their 3 years of dating, which can be seen below. On May 11th, 2025 Tyler proposed to Alli at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. One day after Tyler graduated from ACU, and under the ruse of a "Mother's Day Celebration", Tyler finally got to see the fruits of his months of thoughtful and intentional planning. Meeting Alli at the front of the gardens, Tyler walked her through beautiful displays to a spot where he had set up the proposal. Laid out was a quilted blanket (the same one Alli's best friend Anna had used for her first pregnancy announcement), beautiful bouquets of flowers (each one of Alli's family members as well as her best friends had worked together to each make one of the bouquets laid out), pictures of Alli and Tyler throughout their relationship in classy gold frames (which were borrowed from some of Alli and Tyler's best friends, Hannah and Jackson, who had gotten engaged just a few weeks prior) and a gorgeous new leather bible with Alli's new name engraved on it.

After some sweet words, Tyler got down on one knee and asked Alli to marry him! She said yes, and was not only in shock from what had just transpired, but also because of the surprise of seeing all her best friends come walking towards them! After a group hug and some excited squeals, the surprise got even bigger when Alli's family came walking up! Completely unknown to Alli, Tyler had been in close contact with her parents and brother throughout the process. They flew down to surprise Alli and celebrate her and Tyler. As if the joy of seeing her family was not enough, Tyler then proceeded to tell her that he had worked with her work best friends, Rachel and Becca, to secretly talk to Alli's boss and get her the next 2 days off work. Earlier, Tyler scheduled wedding venue tours at Alli's favorite venues so that while her parents were in town, they could all tour the venues together. After all this excitement, Tyler told Alli that they would be meeting both families to celebrate at dinner. Alli said bye to her friends, and her and Tyler headed to the restaurant. Tyler's parents met them outside the restaurant and hugs and congrats were exchanged (and some excited squeals again). When they walked in, the restaurant was filled with friends and family members. Unknown to Alli, Tyler had made a group chat with all of his and Alli's friends, inviting them to a surprise after-party to celebrate the engagement. Tyler's parents and sister researched and picked a perfect restaurant for the celebration, got cookies specially made, and created the sweetest decor, including pictures of Alli and Tyler growing up. They thought of all the big and small details to make the dinner celebration special!

Now, Tyler and Alli get to continue to see the faithfulness of the Lord as he leads them through their time of engagement. They have both been blessings from God to each other (a result of many prayers) and are overjoyed at the privilege of sharing the rest of their lives together!