Our Story

Sometimes the best love stories start with friendship. For us, it began when we were just kids - a 12-year-old girl with a passion for horses and making people smile, and a boy with ocean blue eyes and an adventurous soul.

Dana - The first time I saw him was in the 6th grade. I had attended an event called Open Gym with a friend who had recently moved to my school district. Little did I know, that night at open gym we would run into one of her friends from her previous school. This friend was Chandler. The first time I saw him, I swore it was love at first sight. I ranted and raved about him for weeks & spent the whole next year hoping I would meet him again once I transferred to the Junior High School. I was determined to make him my boyfriend (which I eventually succeeded in).

Chandler - The first time I saw her was on the 1st day of 7th grade. It was the last class of the day, a history class, and I was running late. When I walked into the classroom, all the seats were filled except one. I quietly walked over to the open seat (minding my own business) & to my surprise, the girl sitting in the seat behind the open seat I was about to sit in pipes up and says, "ohhhhh no, there's trouble!" Insinuating that I was in fact the trouble (she wasn't wrong). I remember Ms. Brown asking Dana and I to stop talking multiple times during that class period. It wasn't long after that I asked her to be my girlfriend.

Neither of us knew that we’d found our forever person at that time. And as could be predicted with 7th grade love stories, it was short-lived. But, life has a funny way of revealing it’s best surprises over time...Fast forward a few years, our story resumed during Sophomore year of High School & has been in the works ever since.

Our journey hasn't always been a linear path. We've weathered storms together, embraced distance, celebrated victories big and small, and grown in ways we never expected. To Dana, Chandler has been her backbone on days when she needed strength, her motivation when the path forward seemed unclear. To Chandler, Dana has been his ray of sunshine, the one who makes every day brighter just by being apart of it. We've become partners in everything - from the boring household chores to life's biggest & most exciting adventures.

We've built our relationship on the little things: Gentle lovin' & home cooked meals, evenings in bed where we laugh until we cry over jokes that most the time aren't even funny, writing each other simple little love notes that continually remind us why we’re so lucky & calling each other often for no other reason than to hear each others voice.

The simplest yet most profound truth between us has always been this: we love each other, completely and without reservation. And we support each other, always. From the epic adventures, to the quiet moments at home, we've created a partnership where being together makes everything better.

They say when you're really lucky, you find someone who loves you exactly as you are. We found something even better - we found our best friend, our biggest supporter, our mentor, and our soulmate all in one person.

As we take this next step together, were not just celebrating our wedding day; were celebrating our 11 year anniversary, the first day of summer, every moment that led us here, and all the adventures yet to come.

Here's to our next chapter, to more surprises, to early mornings & late nights, and to a lifetime of being each others biggest pain in the ass. Because when you find a love this rare, this genuine, and this complete, you hold onto it forever.

— Dana & Chandler

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