DEVON AND I DON’T KNOW EXACTLY HOW WE FIRST MET, AND YOU CAN’T EXACTLY CALL US HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS, EITHER. DEVON HAS BEEN FRIENDS WITH MY OLDER BROTHER JOSH FOR YEARS. DURING MY FRESHMAN YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL, I FOUND MYSELF TAKING JEWELRY 101 AND LO AND BEHOLD, SO DID DEVON. IT MUST’VE BEEN FATE THAT MY BEST FRIEND AND BRIDESMAID COURTNEY LYMBURNER INTRODUCED THE TWO OF US OFFICIALLY IN 2009. FAST FORWARD FOUR YEARS, AND DEVON IS IN THE 75TH RANGER REGIMENT AND STATIONED IN TACOMA, WA AT FORT LEWIS WHILE I’M A FRESHMAN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. WE WROTE EACH OTHER LETTERS AS OFTEN AS WE COULD. DEVON ONCE WROTE TO ME THAT HE DIDN’T WANT TO DATE ME UNTIL HE WAS OUT OF THE MILITARY, TO WHICH I ESSENTIALLY RESPONDED, “NO.” THUS IT BECAME A BEAUTIFUL, CHALLENGING LONG-DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS UNTIL DEVON WAS HONORABLY DISCHARGED ON MY 21ST BIRTHDAY IN 2015. 

WE MOVED TO MINNEAPOLIS IN 2016, WHERE WE BOTH ATTENDED THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA. WE ADOPTED OUR FIRST DOG TOGETHER, OBERON, WHO IS THE LIGHT IN BOTH OF OUR LIVES. DEVON SUPPORTED ME TIRELESSLY DURING MY TWO YEARS AS A TEACH FOR AMERICA CORPS MEMBER, AND AFTER A PARTICULARLY ROUGH FALL 2017, DEVON PROPOSED TO ME ON DECEMBER 30 IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SAGINAW FOREST IN ANN ARBOR. AFTER THE PROPOSAL, HE SURPRISED ME BY TAKING ME TO A LOCAL RESTAURANT WHERE A ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE WE LOVE WERE WAITING TO CELEBRATE WITH US. HE SAID HE WANTED TO WAIT TO PROPOSE UNTIL WE COULD BE WITH OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY, RATHER THAN ALONE IN MINNEAPOLIS. HE’S ONE THOUGHTFUL GUY! BACK IN HIGH SCHOOL, I TOLD MY BEST FRIENDS (NOW BRIDESMAIDS) THAT I WANTED TO MARRY SOMEONE LIKE DEVON. LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT ONE DAY I’D GET TO MARRY DEVON HIMSELF! WE ARE SO EXCITED TO START THE REST OF OUR LIVES TOGETHER! 

OUR LOVE STORY