We can not express our immense gratitude for all of your patience, support, and love as we have figured out how we want to become Mr and Mrs Ethan Rowe. Spending nearly 6 months apart solidified our love. Once we reunited in December, we realized that we never wanted to be apart. We have been blessed with a wonderful community in Texas so we can make a wedding happen in less than 60 days! We could not fathom celebrating without including Marita's family in Kentucky. This is why we are excited to celebrate with our wonderful family in Kentucky. We will get to celebrate with those of you in Kentucky on our original date of July 13th, 2024. Much Love, Marita East and Ethan Rowe

We met at Miracles On the Mountain at Eagle Mountain International Church in March 2019! After service, we went to Whataburger. Over the next few months, we continued to grow in our friendship. We went to movies, out to eat, and even fishing. Like any modern romance story, social media played an important role in the development of our relationship. All summer long we kept our snap streak alive! But before we could come together we had to grow apart. In the fall of 2019, we both started dating other people. In 2020 we reconnected after those relationships had ended. Shortly after, I (Ethan) started dating someone else and we lost touch. It wasn't until the spring of 2022 that I (Ethan) reconnected with Marita at our young adults group The Bridge. We started spending time together and slowly but surely I (Ethan) won Marita's heart over. Shortly after meeting my (Marita's) mom in November 2022, I (Ethan) asked Marita out to get coffee! On our first official date, we became boyfriend and girlfriend AND Marita met my (Ethan's) parents!

May 14th, 2023 Ethan wanted to take our whole family to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. A few weeks before he asked if I could keep that afternoon open because he wanted to do something special with our families! Could it be?! Would this be the day Ethan asks me to marry him? I wasn't 100% sure but I had a pretty good feeling. Even though it rained Ethan kept to his original plan and around two o'clock in the afternoon we started our journey through the garden. His sister-n-law, Kelisa, knew he was going to ask me to marry him. At every possible photo opportunity, she told us to get together to take a photo. Every time she did this I thought FOR SURE he was going to ask me! It wasn't until around 3:30 that Kelisa asked us for another photo. At this point, I had begun to think it wasn't going to happen! She pulled me forward and made sure that my hair and necklace were just right. When I turned around, there he was! On one knee with the biggest smile on his face and the most beautiful ring in his hands. He said, "Will you marry me?" I was speechless and so relieved! Somehow I managed to get out the word "Yes!" before I leaned down to kiss him!

On May 14th, 2023 I proposed to my best friend! It was a Sunday, and I started my morning as usual by getting ready for church, but I was definitely nervous for what I had planned later in the day. As church was coming to and end, I started to realize that this was actually happening. I remember Seth and Kelisa asking me if I was ready and I just smiled and said "I am". While having lunch with Seth and Kelisa it started to rain, which made me panic even more. So I started to try and find another spot to propose. I decided to stick with the Botanical Gardens, and I was just praying that the rain would hold off for the proposal. I had a photographer already there waiting for us and I had invited our whole family. When everyone finally showed up, we started to walk through the gardens. Every step closer to the spot, made my heart beat faster with excitement and nervousness. After walking for about 30 minutes, we were there, the spot that was perfect, the spot where I would ask the love of my life to marry me. As we were setting up for a "couple" picture, I had Kelisa "fix" Marita's hair, and that is when I knelt down and waited for her to turn around, and when she did I said the 4 magic words, "Will You Marry Me?". She said Yes!!!