We are high school sweethearts who started out as awkward friends in middle school. Since we have been together for a third of our lives, we’ve had the opportunity to grow up together and experience countless milestones as a couple.

From the beginning, it was never a question of whether or not we’d spend the rest of our lives together—it was just a matter of when!

We’ve done so many different things together—from spending time at the Lake of the Ozarks, to going to Disney World, to watching Chicago Bears games together. The one constant has always been—and always will be—us, together.

Our Engagement Story

We were headed down to one of our favorite places, the Lake of the Ozarks, for our 8th anniversary! We planned a quick weekend getaway, driving down on Thursday and heading home on Sunday. The Mieska family was also coming to the lake that weekend for family photos.

Saturday morning rolled around, and we had just finished getting ready for photos at 10:00 AM. Owen, Jude, and Finn had left the condo early to meet my family and set up the proposal site! Luke had asked Jan, Addison, and Morgan to join us for the proposal—without me knowing. I had been trying to text and call my mom and sisters all weekend, but none of them were answering, which I thought was really strange. Little did I know, they were on their way to the lake to surprise me at the proposal!

We rode with Gina and Jere to Ha Ha Tonka State Park, where we were taking photos. This place is incredibly special to us—we’ve been there many times during past trips to the lake. It’s absolutely beautiful, overlooking the springs that feed into the Lake of the Ozarks.

During the car ride, Luke mentioned that his hands were super sweaty. I thought nothing of it. I was too busy asking Gina 50 questions—who was taking our pictures, why we were taking pictures, where we were taking them, etc. However, I had absolutely no clue a proposal was about to happen.

When we arrived at Ha Ha Tonka, Jere had parked in the wrong spot, so we had to walk a bit to get to the photographer. On our walk up, we passed within six feet of my mom’s car. Luke and the boys quickly redirected my attention to the opposite side of the road as we walked by—and they got lucky. I didn’t notice a thing.

As we continued walking, I was carrying my purse and an extra pair of shoes to change into if my heels started hurting. Gina asked Jude or Finn to help carry my extra shoes. They grabbed them and just smiled. I was confused and said, “I can carry my shoes.” A few moments later, Gina reached over and took my purse off my shoulder, saying, “Here, let me carry this.” I stopped and said, “I can carry my stuff, guys??” Everyone just smiled and kept walking.

At this point, we were approaching the photographer, who was standing on the overlook deck above the natural springs. Luke and I walked out onto the deck, while the Mieska family slowed down behind us to watch everything unfold. Owen waved down my family. Jan, Addison, and Morgan were hiding behind some bushes, waiting to surprise me.

I noticed beautiful baby pink rose petals scattered across the deck and whispered to Luke, “Someone must have just gotten engaged!” (Yes—I really had no clue.) Then Luke got down on one knee.

After screaming “OH MY GOD” over and over again and being completely overwhelmed with happiness and love, Luke pointed up to where my family was standing. That’s when I saw Jan, Addison, and Morgan. It was such a surreal moment—I had absolutely no idea they were there (which explains why no one had been answering my calls or texts!). It was truly the best moment of our lives, made even more special by being surrounded by our family.

We had the most magical day. After the proposal, we took photos with each other and our families and had a big champagne cheers! Then we headed to a surprise lunch at Riverbird Winery to celebrate. A gorgeous table with stunning floral arrangements were waiting for us. After enjoying delicious food and drinks, we returned to the condo to relax and soak it all in.

That evening, we had one final surprise—dinner at Michael’s Steakhouse Chalet, the cutest steakhouse overlooking the lake. It was a picture-perfect day, filled with so much love. We will relive that day over and over again!