We met at Guthrie's River Ruckus in 2014. Casey was performing, and I was photographing the festival. We ran into each other a few times throughout the day. After his set I introduced myself by asking if Casey wanted to come have a drink with me. Casey replied with, "I'd love to, but you'll have to ask my mom first." Yes....seriously. Gina (Casey’s mom), worried that I may not be 21 yet (I wasn’t… good call Gina!) put a quick stop to that. But seven years later, we reconnected by fate. We say that God had his hand in play that day in Guthrie County when introducing us to each other. He introduced us to the one person we were meant to be with, and then sent us both down different roads to grow, learn, and strengthen ourselves as individuals. In March of 2021 we both "swiped right", and two days later we had our fist date. It was awkward as it could be. Even so, I could tell that this man was going to be a major part in my life. I didn’t want to fall in love with someone who didn’t share the same values and hopes for the future as I did. I told him during out first date that if we perused a relationship, I wanted to be married with babies in the next 5 years. I honestly thought it would send him running but instead he assured me that he wanted the same pace in life. As I reflect on where we are now and reminisce back on that moment I give all thanks to God for reuniting us and the future we have together. -Kenzie

On our very first date, we were brutally honest with each other. "If you're not looking for marriage and children, then we're wasting our time," was the phrase she used, if I recall correctly. I can honestly say, not one day has been wasted since that first awkward meetup. The last two years have been full of more adventure and love than I could ever imagine, and for that reason, it was a pretty easy realization that I was ready to propose. For anyone who knows Kenzie, she'd been making it pretty obvious that she was ready for months. For Kenzie's 26th birthday, we took a trip to Dallas, Texas. Right before we left, I paid off the ring, and hid it in my center console for the entire 707 mile drive, sitting a mere six inches from her. The entire drive back, she hinted at being ready for marriage, and ever-so-subtly dropping "ring" related comments. Little did she know, that the ring was within her reach the entire drive, and I have to admit, I loved the irony. The ring split time between my car and the bedside table, and came to work with me every night, because you just can't be careful enough when trying to hide a secret from a caffeine-fueled FBI agent. Shortly after we returned from our trip, I arranged a promotional photoshoot for work, and invited Kenzie along, as usual. Amidst the shoot, while on a parking garage rooftop with the city of Des Moines setting into the sun behind us, I dropped to one knee. I'll never forget that moment. It was FREEZING COLD. Kenzie had a mouth full of champagne, and somehow, she didn't spit it all over me. We both cried. And most importantly: she said "yes." -Casey