Taylor and Luke's first interaction was a conversation on social media about college football. Taylor did not spare Luke's feelings when making her unfavorable opinions of his beloved Florida State Seminoles apparent. Luke immediately jumped to the conclusion that Taylor was a Gators fan and quickly learned of the exaggerated rivalry that Taylor may have created between those Seminoles and her UCF Knights. Despite their glaring incompatibility, Taylor agreed to a date, which took place in Downtown Saint Augustine. The date was during Nights of Lights, leaving the city beautifully adorned for the holiday season. They walked for a while before settling on dinner at Taco Shop and following up with Kilwin's, where they both unknowingly ordered Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. There was plenty working against this date from the start, and we aren't talking about their differing taste in college football teams. The traffic was horrendous, making them both plenty late. The weather was not much better, as it rained steadily the majority of the evening, so much so that Taylor still harasses Luke to this day about making her walk in the rain. Despite it all, Luke secured himself a second date and their love story has continued ever since.

It is no secret that Luke has wanted to propose to Taylor for over a year. A couple of deployments combined with Taylor's arguably strict parameters on the proposal (holiday proposals were prohibited, as were a proposal immediately following or just prior to deployment), left the gesture delayed...until... Taylor and Luke began planning a much needed vacation for mid-August. As the plans began to develop, Taylor casually mentioned to Luke, that proposing on vacation would be obvious. With this being Luke's Plan A, he began to scheme for a Plan B. Luke started putting things in motion to secure a photographer and coordinate with friends to make the pieces fall into place. Luke thought he had the perfect plan, a staged double date to dinner that would just so happen to be a date all to themselves, with a proposal on the beach to follow. You could say that Taylor was less than surprised when there was a last minute cancellation for the dinner date but was still in the dark about all the finishing touches. When they arrived at the restaurant, Luke forgot his phone in the car, which was how he was coordinating with the photographer and Taylor's friend, who assisted with setting everything up. Luke used this opportunity to grab the waiter, and ensure he was aware of the timeline required to end up at the proposal site just before sunset. After a delicious dinner on the water, with wine and dessert, Luke led Taylor to the spot near the jetties. Luke's heart was racing as he somewhat dragged Taylor powerwalking down the beach before arriving at the pre-arranged spot with flowers, blankets, a sign, and wine. Luke gave a speech straight from the heart, dropped to a knee, and of course Taylor said "YES". We're so excited to begin this next chapter in our lives and celebrate with those who matter most.