we’re getting married

I first met Porter in Claver Hall during our freshman year of college at Regis University. I remember he had these striking blue eyes and a warmth that drew you in. He was kind, easygoing, and, above all, made everyone around him feel like a friend. After our initial encounter, Porter became a fixture in my life through his roommate and best friend, Luca, as we all lived in the co-ed dorm, Desmet. One very memorable night, after the most infamous party of our freshman year (the one where the house burned down), Luca and I found ourselves sitting in the hallway of our dorm, chatting. He asked if I’d seen Porter’s Sports Illustrated Athlete of the Month video. Naturally, we watched the full 9 minutes and 43 seconds of people singing Porter’s praises—his athleticism, character, and leadership. Even Porter’s teacher called him “the cream of the crop,” and you could practically feel his sisters' love and admiration through the screen. Porter was clearly a man of many talents, and soccer was just the beginning. Thanks to Porter and Luca’s open door policy (and my impeccable ability to invite myself to their dorm room), I quickly became a regular visitor. I’d help myself to snacks that weren’t mine, rant about life, and join in on many little adventures. One night during our second semester, Porter and Luca came over to hang out, and Porter asked if he could play some tunes on my computer. He started playing The Kooks, one of my favorite bands. I, in my infinite wisdom, immediately accused him of playing one of my playlists. He, of course, replied with, “No, this is The Kooks.” Well, that small moment turned into hours of us sitting on my dorm room floor, swapping favorite songs, bands, and musical influences. It was the kind of spontaneous conversation that made me realize I’d found a friend for life. If you knew us back then, you know things got a little...complicated. But despite the twists and turns, Porter and I always found our way back to being friends and trusted confidants. Junior year holds a special place in both of our hearts. Our closest friends will never forget the highs, lows, and everything in between. Some people *cough, Garret* were in denial about what was stirring between us, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that we were enamored with each other. The turning point of our story came on March 19th, 2019, when Porter invited me to a concert in Boulder with his sister, Ellie, and her partner. Nervous was an understatement. My best friends, Bridget and Katie, had this hunch that Porter might be planning a move—I was just nervous about hanging out with his big sister. Looking back, it was a night that felt like it had been manifesting for years—fun, easy, and set the course for our partnership. Our story didn’t start that night, though. It began when we saw each other as equals—friends, resources, and teammates. Our values aligned from the start, and through it all, we’ve kept our friendship at the heart of everything. Not everyone gets to marry their best friend, but I do—and I’ll never take that for granted. Thank you to everyone who has and continues to support us along the way. Thanks to all the love and encouragement we’ve received, we have had six years full of travel, fun, education, and adventure. We cannot wait to celebrate the next chapter of our journey with all of you on August 8th & 9th, 2025!

Our worlds first collided freshman year of college, 2016. Sarah was this beautiful, passionate, smart, and energetic kid; I was a chump who had peaked in high school. For some reason, she gave me the time of day and our friendship flourished. We built our foundations on this friendship - on the similarities we shared, the people we loved, the futures we wanted for ourselves. Not to mention the snacks Sarah would steal out of our dorm room stash. Luca and I had an open door policy in Room 208, and Sarah knew it. She thought she was slick, but I was privy to her kleptomaniac tendencies... I was always happy to let them go to her. To me however, one moment stands out above the rest from that year. Luca and I were hanging out with Sarah in her room when I asked if I could play some music. Naturally, I turned on The Kooks and Sarah was quick to point out that I should play my own music, not hers. I told her that this was, in fact, my own music. And thus, down we went - into a musical rabbit hole, swapping our favorite songs, genres, and small-time bands we each thought we had found first. It's always exciting to find out someone has the same taste in music as you, but this was different. That night, the two of us entered into our own little atmosphere; the outside world be damned. That's when I knew. I knew I needed her in my life no matter what. Now, don't let Sarah fool you, I think she was still in it for the snacks at this point. But it still took us two more years to grow into ourselves, our experiences, before we said to hell with just being friends. And wouldn't you know it, all it took to push us towards what we really wanted - each other - was a Mt. Joy concert chaperoned by Ellie. Romantic ;) Now here we are, five years later, with two dogs and a ring on Sarah's finger. We make a good team, there's no doubt about that. But we wouldn't be so lucky if we didn't have such incredible friends and family around us the whole way, who are just as much a part of this story as we are. We are so grateful, and so immensely excited to celebrate that with all of you in 2025.