Whitney and my story is about as far from a traditional relationship as I could imagine. Outside of ten months together in South Carolina, the eight years that we’ve pursued our dating relationship have been primarily long distance, yet it has been the greatest adventure of my life.

Although the relationship started in a normal way…boy meets girl, girl thinks boy is cute, boy thinks girl is beautiful, a few dates result…our normal dating halted. Whitney went back to Purdue to finish her doctorate, and I realized that I wasn’t ready to let it end.

After three years of relentless pursuit, Whitney grew tired of my prodding and she asked me to be her boyfriend! Since then, we have traveled a good deal of the United States and parts of Canada. During covid, Whitney spent a year in Canada and we continued to talk daily. I’m so glad that Whitney had her dog Bull while she was in Canada to keep her company, as I was unable to visit during the pandemic.

From hiking in Utah, to peaceful stays in Big Bear, even seeing all the Great Lakes in a calendar year, Whitney and I are constantly looking for new places on the map to see in their off seasons. Breweries, coffee shops, mom n’ pop restaurants, expansive views, and front porch rocking chairs are where our interest turned into love, and where love turned into a desire to spend our lives together.

I knew in the first week of knowing Whitney that I wanted to marry her. After 7 years together I took Whitney back to the location of our third date and asked her to marry me. She said yes! (There were several failed attempts prior to successful asking that didn’t take shape, so I guess God wanted me to ask her in the great state of Texas!)

After a year of dreaming and planning together, we want to spend our special day with family and a few close friends in one of our favorite places we’ve been, Asheville, North Carolina. We hope you can join in our celebration as we hitch our wagons together on June 7th!

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