Ward and Kylie met at Veterans United, where they both worked in the same department. Ward started in June of 2020, while Kylie joined the department in April of 2021. The two would say their polite “hello”s in the hallways of VU, but they didn’t actually get to know one another until they were placed on the same team in January of 2022. A few months later, Ward was promoted and would soon join a new team, and it was that same day when he first asked Kylie out on a date. They became official on May 14, 2022 and have been together since!

Ward proposed on August 21st - a warm Wednesday evening. Kylie had hoped a proposal would be coming soon, but she was not expecting it to be on a weeknight! She had plans for dinner with the girls at Madison’s in Jeff City that evening. Kylie didn’t know, but she threw a wrench in the plan by stopping at Moser’s in Ashland for groceries — where she ended up closely trailing Ward on the highway as he passed through town. She thought it was his car up ahead, and thought that was a little strange, but she didn’t want to get her hopes up and told herself it probably wasn’t him. But just in case, Kylie changed into a cuter dress and touched up her hair and makeup a bit more intentionally once she got home. As the girls picked Kylie up for dinner, they took a detour while waiting for one more friend to be ready. The detour was to the land that Kylie had purchased earlier in the summer for her and Ward to build on one day. Lo and behold, Ward was there, waiting for Kylie. And on the property that they will one day call “home,” that is where Ward popped the question!