We first met on a summer trip we both took to Europe in 2017. He asked her out on a date when we got back to Arizona and she said no. We avoided each other in the hallways of school. A year later, he was leaving for college in Iowa and she apologized for 'being a bitch' (exact first words) and we have been together since. Our first date was at the same spot he proposed almost 4 years later, Desert Botanical Gardens. Between us, there were 4 colleges that brought us closer together and countless late-night phone calls and text messages. Our love started on the other side of the world and grew deeper at a distance of 1500 miles until we moved closer to 150 miles and then closer til we were always together. He proposed with her parents' blessing in front of our best friends on May 15th, 2022. This is only the beginning for us.

Despite being from the same school, we hadn't met before our European trip in the summer of 2017. In London, we explored with our individual small groups and only saw each other in group settings. It wasn't until Paris that we truly met. We began exploring the Louvre and Effel Tower together and that was just the beginning. We explored Neuschwanstein Castle, Berlin, Germany and Lucerne, Switzerland. After spending two weeks together, we had our first kiss in our Austrian hotel.

Now, despite having this beautiful Hallmark story, we ignored one another in the hallways of Shadow Ridge for the following year. Independently we convinced our best friends to give one another a chance and go on a date together, who are now standing next to us as our Best Man and Maid of Honor. When Luke was leaving for college in Iowa, Kayla messaged him on Snapchat to wish him good luck and, verbatim, apologized for being a bitch. From there we went from talking every few days to every other to talking at any moment during the day. Our time dating spanned over 1600 miles with Luke in school in Iowa. After completing his freshman year, Luke decided to come back home to Surprise to be with Kayla. At this time Kayla was heading up 139 miles away to Northern Arizona University. This was quickly interrupted by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Kayla moved back home to Surprise and transferred to Arizona State University to spend every moment with Luke. On May 15th, 2022, after being together for 3 1/2 years, Luke planned a date at the same spot as our first date, Desert Botanical Gardens to propose.

Everyone shares how stressful wedding planning can be but man, were we surprised. From our engagement on May 15th, Kayla picked her dress out only 14 days later. In mid-June we went on a cruise out of New Orleans and had an amazing time traveling as a couple. Coming back home, we were looking at different venue options and found the Landmark hosting an open house and decided to check it out. On June 29th, we weren't expecting to find "the one" in our first tour, but it took only an hour and a half for us to decide that this is exactly what we wanted. We signed the papers that same day, securing our venue! On July 17th, Luke's parents hosted our engagement party with all of our family and friends. We took our engagement photos in August and had a relatively easy wedding planning season for the remainder of 2022 working on small things as we went. Then comes the fun parts of picking up the dress, getting all the Etsy orders in, and putting the final touches on our Big Day!