We cannot wait to celebrate our special day with you!

When Gabrielle's parents told her their family was moving to Georgia the summer before 8th grade, what they thought was going to be an excited reaction turned into a spiral of crying and arguing. However, little did she know that moving to Georgia was the best choice her family could make, as she would meet her best friend and soulmate. This realization would take time as Conner was too afraid to talk to girls for years, especially pretty ones like Gabrielle. It wasn't until senior year that she chose the wrong seat in English and wound up in front of Conner listening to him mess around constantly. They became good friends; she would ask him advice and ask him to edit her papers, which to this day he has not stopped doing. Eventually, Gabrielle asked Conner to do the school musical that year, Little Women. He agreed to try it and they both had a lot of fun. During the show, they would make each other laugh nonstop and try to mess each other up when performing. As the show's opening night grew near, Gabrielle realized she had started to develop feelings for Conner. A few weeks after the show was over, she had to make the first move, as Conner was actually clueless that she was flirting with him. Finally, Conner caught on, and they began texting each other nonstop. Conner never actually asked Gabrielle out, but instead just told her that we were going to go get ice cream on the weekend. That first date just confirmed that their relationship was something really special. They attended a pilgrimage to Rome together with their senior class and were inseparable the entire trip. Eventually, graduation came and the reality that Conner was leaving for the Academy was daunting and becoming very real. Although they had only been dating a few weeks, they decided that they wanted to stay together no matter what difficulties long distance would bring. At the beginning, long distance was incredibly hard, but they did their best to make it work. With Conner at the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY and Gabrielle at Ave Maria University in Ave Maria, FL, any chance they got to see each other, they would. This means they have spent probably thousands of dollars on flights alone to see each other throughout these years, but they knew that they would spend any amount of money to be with each other, even if it was for a weekend. They both knew how they wanted to get married, even from the beginning of their relationship. Gabrielle was very impatient waiting for Conner to pop the question. However, finally on October 7th, 2022, a beautiful fall day, Conner got down on one knee in the middle of White Point Garden in Charleston, SC. Although Gabrielle knew it was coming, it was a perfect moment for them that they shared. She did not actually cry when she got proposed to. However, when Conner told her to turn around for a surprise, she saw her mom and sister pop out from the bushes, which made her bawl instantly. Conner and Gabrielle have been doing long distance their entire relationship, which proves that if you try hard enough and truly love each other, it can work. We hope you can join us in celebrating the Sacrament of Marriage on July 1st, 2023!