Sophie's & Christopher's Celebrations

Our Story

How it all began

Looking back, our story really started a few months before we ever met.

In the fall of 2025, I was feeling like God was asking me to make some changes. I didn't know exactly what was coming, but I had a distinct feeling that I needed to make room for someone in my life.

A few months later, on February 1, 2026, Chris sent me a message on Mutual asking where I had served my mission. One message turned into a phone call, and one phone call turned into several. We quickly discovered many shared loves including our love of the UK and Ireland, the Washington D.C. area, and herbal tea. Before long, our nighttime phone calls became "teatime." Those conversations lasted for hours and felt so natural. My first impression of Chris was that he was kind, easy to talk to, and genuinely interested in what I had to say.

By the time Valentine's weekend rolled around, Chris had asked if he could drive down from Rexburg to take me on our first in-person date. I remember waking up that morning feeling excited anticipation, something I normally don't feel before first dates.

He showed up with flowers (awwww!!), and we spent the afternoon at the aquarium before deciding neither of us was ready for it to end. We picked up dinner, hiked to the Draper Suspension Bridge, and talked about everything from our interests to our hopes for the future. As I shared some of the dreams I had, including my interest in holistic health, Chris responded several times with "I can support you in that." It caught me off guard each time. He wasn't trying to change my plans, he was so supportive and was already thinking about how we could build a life together.

The rest of the weekend felt just as natural. We went to Music and the Spoken Word, cooked breakfast together, and found ourselves talking about the kind of family we hoped to have one day. It probably sounds funny that those conversations happened on a first weekend together, but they felt so honest and natural rather than rushed. We both knew who we were and what mattered to us, and it was clear early on that we wanted the same things.

One thing I really appreciate is how intentional Chris is. He never pressured me, but he made it clear that he was dating with the hope of finding his wife. That combination of confidence and patience gave our relationship direction and gave me so much peace.

A few weeks later, we officially started dating, and just three months after that, Chris proposed at sunset on the Rexburg Sand Dunes. It was peaceful and joyful, and felt just as certain as those first impressions I received eight months earlier that someone was going to come into my life.

There have been so many sweet moments that Chris and I have shared together over the past 5 months and I can see God's hand in our lives so vividly. I cannot wait to see what life brings and what we are able to create together. We're excited to celebrate this next chapter with all of you. ❤️

It all began Valentine's weekend. We had been talking long distance for a few weeks, and with Monday being Presidents' Day, I took advantage of the three day weekend to drive down and see Sophie. Worst case, I figured I could turn it into a mini vacation and visit my brother and family in Lehi, but I ended up never needing the backup plan.

I had made her a gift ahead of time and then left it sitting at home, so I found myself scrambling to put something together last minute in my brother's kitchen. It turned into a flower arrangement in a vase with sand, and I think it came out pretty nice given the circumstances. Sophie really loved it. When I got to her place, where she was living with several of her sisters, I walked in to find flowers absolutely everywhere, old ones and new ones. It was Valentine's weekend after all, and I remember thinking I might have some competition.

From there, Sophie did most of the talking, and I was perfectly happy letting her. I was nervous, the way you are meeting someone for the first time, and honestly I am not sure I could have gotten a word in anyway. We started at the Loveland Aquarium and just let the day carry us from there, grabbing food on the way to a hike up Bear Canyon and having our picnic right beside the suspension bridge. By the end of the weekend I asked her out, and she said something along the lines of not yet, which I chose to hear as maybe.

Maybe turned into yes somewhere along the way, and a few months later came the day we got engaged. If I am being honest, it did not go how I had imagined it. I would have liked something slow and simple, but instead the day was busy and full of driving back and forth. We helped a friend move, ran out to my aunt and uncle's for a book Sophie had forgotten, and were all over the place before we finally made it out to the dunes that evening.

We got there just in time for the sunset, with plans to watch it go down, build a fire, and stargaze once it got dark. I had not really thought through a proper setup, and as I got the fire going, the nerves started to catch up with me.

Once the fire was lit, I knelt down in front of her and pretended to rummage through my backpack, though I was really digging for the box. The first thing I pulled out was a giant ring pop, the one real joke of the night. The custom ring we had ordered did not have a clear delivery date, so I had brought two nice stand-in rings to propose with, ones she could actually wear day to day while the special one stayed home for bigger occasions.

Sophie said yes right away, and then, half in disbelief, asked if I was serious. So I proposed again, this time with one of the stand-in rings. She had no idea any of this was coming, and she was just as surprised the second time. Then, after a pause, I proposed a third time with the other one, telling her there were no take backs now that she had said yes three times.

She sat by the firelight admiring her rings, switching back and forth between the two stand-ins, while we texted family and close friends the ring pop photo first; it was fun teasing them before showing the real thing. Sophie was all smiles the rest of the night.

I cannot say I fully understand yet what it means to be engaged, or that I feel drastically different. But I love the change I see in Sophie, how happy she is, and the smile it brings to my own face every time I see a ring on her finger.