Join us in celebrating our marriage!

Back in 2018, we were both in the same environmental studies class, but we didn't interact at that time at all. It wasn't until 3 years later when Paul joined Cru that we had our first conversation. Mikayla recognized him at our first Cru event of the year and we became friends soon after.

Later in the semester where we became friends, Paul started to develop a crush on Mikayla. He intentionally would spend more time talking with her in group events or afterward. One key way that he found a way to hang out with her more was by teaching her to longboard. After Cru, we would go out into the parking lot and he taught her how to longboard. This lead to Paul asking her out on a date, but Mikayla said maybe. A following night where Mikayla was going to tell Paul no to a date (sorry Paul! I didn't think this was the right timing..) they went out longboarding. In an unfortunate series of events, Mikayla went down a hill and tore her ACL. We rushed to the ER and spent many hours in the waiting room talking. Paul took care of her, got her snacks, and kept her company. How could she say no NOW?! So going against her original plan, she said yes. We went on a date that semester, but still the answer was no. Mikayla went on co-op in the spring and we only talked sporadically. When we were back at RIT in the fall, to Mikayla's surprise, he asked her out again! After much thought and prayer, Mikayla agreed to this second-first date. What we both thought would be the beginning of a year of singleness, turned into the beginning of our lives together and we have been together ever since!

On a bright, sunny, and warm June day, we went on a nice trip to Niagara Falls. Mikayla had known this was a special trip and had a big hunch it would be the proposal location. But we went along as if nothing were different, and enjoyed the views of the Falls. Once we got into the Canadian side, we went to sit in a beautiful and quiet garden. Paul pulled from his backpack a rock painted with a significant location to our relationship on it and a QR code. He made a video with pictures of us together, and at the end of it he asked her to be his wife <3

We knew fairly early on in our relationship that we would like to be married. The more we grew in love and in friendship, the more we could see ourselves spending the rest of our lives together. The bigger question became a matter of when. A job opportunity came up for Paul in Erie, PA which was not on our radar. By the way the opportunity presented itself, we knew that God had opened this up. Growing further into the interview process, we saw that our options for the future would be to get married sooner than we planned and move to Erie together, or stay in Rochester and get married in 2024 like we originally thought would happen. We prayed deeply into this and the more we listened, the more we didn't see Erie as a sign to move there, but to be married sooner and stay in Rochester. So this grew into combining the 2 options we thought were in front of us and get married sooner and stay in Rochester. With our desire to do ministry together and rely on each other, we honestly couldn't see our lives any other way. It was perfect timing for us to elope last August and then celebrate our marriage this year with you all! So yes, we know our relationship was not traditional by any means, but honestly we love our lives and are very thankful for God bringing us together in such an unexpected way!