Maddi's POV: As cliche as it sounds, our story started over Instagram DMs all the way back in 2017. It was the summer after our sophomore year of high school and I was packing for our family vacation to Hawaii with Jess. All of a sudden, I get a notification from a random guy pop up on my phone. I opened it up and read “Hey, I think you're pretty cute, could I get your number or snapchat?” I immediately showed my sister and we stalked his profile page. He wasn’t in any of my classes (never had been in all the years we went to school together), but I had seen him around before in passing. He was a part of the basketball team, and really REALLY cute. However, as a girl with her guard up, Jess and I decided I should wait it out to make sure I wasn’t being pranked. 21 hours later, I sent him back a message with my phone number. And the rest was history…

Will's POV: The first time I ever laid eyes on Maddi was actually on Instagram. From that point on I started to notice her around school, and I paid attention. The main thing that really caught my eye was that big smile that she has. I knew I had to do something, but I didn’t know how to approach her.

One weekend night at my friend's house, I had the idea to just shoot Maddi a DM on Instagram. I will never forget the night I sent that message. I wouldn’t have been able to do it if it weren’t for the encouragement of my friends. Maddi then decided to wait a whole day to respond to me. I thought I had no chance. As I was sitting down at 8:42 pm the next day with a bowl of cocoa krispies at my desk at home, my phone lit up. I will never forget that moment when she finally responded, a small moment that would change my entire life for the better.

Maddi's POV: Just kidding, there was a rocky beginning to our story that most of you are unaware of. While on the Road to Hana in Hawaii during our family vacation, my iPhone broke, and I wasn't able to contact the boy I had been texting.

When I returned from vacation, I got my new phone, and was finally able to pick up where I left off. I texted…and no answer. He thought I had “ghosted” him. And now he was ghosting me back for it.

The summer went by and I carried on. As junior year loomed, I had a thought of what it would be like if I ever saw him in the halls. The start of the school year was hectic as always, as everyone is trying to find their groove. Around September, I had decided, with the encouragement of my fellow leadership class, that I should shoot him another text. On the same exact day that I was going to text him, I saw him holding hands with the new girl. I immediately went numb, and not to be dramatic, I almost vomited from the almost-second-hand-embarassment I could have received if I had sent that text. But the worst thing was, she was in my class, sitting behind me, and I could hear her talking about him all period long.

There is nothing you want more than the thing you can’t have. So I yearned (again, dramatic - but I was a teenager so), and I posted pictures with cryptic captions, and I sat by where he had lunch, and I made sure to wear my cutest outfits. I soon found out that their relationship had run its (very short) course and I was in the clear. I waited a while, but eventually, it was my turn this time to “shoot my shot”. I texted him, and now, the rest was history.

Will's POV: Our beginning wasn't as smooth as people would think. It started off great, I would say, at least great from her. At that time in my life all I did was play basketball and video games, so I knew I couldn’t have been that interesting (not much has changed). So after a short while, Maddi had ghosted me, or so I had thought. I assumed it was because she always carried the conversation (and I was super dry, boring and uninteresting). I realized I had no chance at a girl like her.

A few months had gone by and there hadn't been any communication between us. Just as I had lost all hope, I received a message from Maddi! She was messaging me to see how I was doing, and she asked me why I had ghosted her. I said, "excuse me?"! Come to find out, her “ghosting” me was her phone breaking and her being unable to message me. And me “ghosting” her, was when my phone broke and was unable to message her. We had gone all this time without messaging each other because we thought we ghosted each other, but we had just ironically broken our phones at the worst possible times.

Maddi's POV: In the last two years of high school, we attended school dances, coordinated halloween costumes, attended basketball and football games, ate lunch together in the leadership room, and he walked me to my classes (holding my hand and cracking my knuckles, every time, between 5th and 6th period). Being as involved as I was in high school, it was important to me that I have someone who supported me. I didn’t think about that at the time, and I never asked him to, but he attended every dance with me, stayed hours after school prepping for spirit week, participated in dress-up days, and came to event set ups and clean ups. He was as supportive as a person could be, and I didn’t realize how important that was to me at the time, but looking back, I think that's when I knew he was going to be around for a while.

Senior year came and went and we each left with a prom king and queen title, a diploma, a direction, and a sturdy relationship.

College was more of the same. We grew tremendously as individuals and found what we wanted to do. If we were a foundation, then the pandemic tried to rock us. We came out the other end even stronger than before. We experienced vacations together, family parties, game nights, anniversaries, holidays, long night drives, road trips, long talks, movie dates, concerts, amusement parks, sports games, camping trips, and eventually, our college graduations!

Will's POV: After that huge misunderstanding, the rest of high school was great. Walking her from class to class, helping her set things up with her leadership class, and getting to know one another, was definitely the best part of my high school years.

College was the pivotal point in Maddi and I’s relationship. Maddi could have gone to any college in the entire world. She had over a 4.0 GPA, she was ASB President ( I can go on forever on how smart she is). I assumed she was going to a big college and I was going to support her on any path she chose because I didn’t want to hold her back at all. So when she had told me that she was going to be financially smart and go to Moorpark College, I was genuinely shocked, but selfishly, super happy she wasn’t going to move far away.

College was definitely tough for the both of us. Going to school full time and practically working full time jobs made it a battle to make time for our relationship. Half way through the first year of college we were struggling, but we were both working hard to make things work. We had a conversation around that time and we agreed that if we can make it through college together, we can make it through anything. Although college was tough on our relationship, it made our relationship sturdy and it helped us build a great foundation.

Now don’t get me wrong, the college years were definitely some of the best years for us. The endless concerts, beach trips, snow trips, movie nights, and date nights are some of the best memories with her. Through all the struggles, ups and downs, fun nights, and unforgettable moments, I realized how strong our relationship really was. We both worked so hard and I knew we would do anything for each other. Although Maddi and I are very different, as far as hobbies and interests, we compliment each other so well. She thrives in areas where I lack (and vise-versa). The amount of love and support Maddi gives me constantly, her ability to make me laugh, her ability to turn my terrible day into a good one, etc. All of these things that she does for me, I realized I never want this to end. At the beginning of senior year of college, I realized, I have to marry this girl.

Maddi's POV: I was told by Will that he had planned a celebratory post college graduation trip to our favorite area in California, the Santa Ynez Valley and Solvang. I excitedly planned my outfits with my sisters guidance, begged Will to tell me what we were doing so I could plan my outfits correctly, and then proceeded to guess until he let it slip that we were going horseback riding (something I’ve longed to do since I last did it during a trip to the Grand Canyon when I was 9). I thought absolutely nothing of it, as he had surprised me with little trips like this in the past, and we love to share new experiences together.

The day came to hit the road and I was subtly encouraged to wear the dress I had packed. Will had bought a whole new outfit for the trip, which was different (because he never buys anything for himself), and he was acting really fidgety and quiet. I honestly should (and usually would) have picked up on this behavior because he is normally the most chill, laidback man. However, I was running all over town trying to find a pair of Levi’s jeans to wear with my cowboy boots for horseback riding (hehe). As we were driving to Solvang, Will wanted to stop in Montecito to grab a bite to eat. We walked around the beach and then grabbed a table at Tre Lune. We ordered wine, pasta, pizza, and chocolate mousse and espresso for dessert.

With full stomachs, we drove the last bit to an undisclosed location. Will reached into the glove box and pulled out a pack of dramamine. This is where he told me we were going up in a hot air balloon. We were then picked up by our pilot and shuttled to a nearby farm estate in Los Olivos. We were urged to pet the goats and say hi to the horses that were roaming around the pasture while they set up the balloon. We walked around, took pictures, pet farm animals, and grew more anxious by the minute. Finally, we were called over and were instructed to lay horizontally in the sideways basket and as the balloon would fill with hot air, we would be launched into the sky. As the sun was beginning to set, we reached the layer of the atmosphere where all of the noise below became silent. That's what they don't tell you about hot air balloon rides - how peaceful it is when you get to the top. The wind slowed to a gentle breeze, the warm summer air turned cool, and the hustle and bustle of life quieted. I was staring toward the Santa Barbara mountain range, holding my glass of champagne, when I instinctively turned around.

There he was, on one knee, holding the most beautiful ring I had ever seen, asking me to marry him. I said yes, put the ring on the wrong finger, watched the sunset, took pictures of each other, pointed at the cows grazing in the pastures below, sipped my champagne, poured the remaining champagne onto God-knows-what because I was too shaky to drink anything, panicked at the basket landing, applauded the hot air balloon team, thanked them, and then drove away.

When I got to our hotel room, there were white rose petals on the floor, my favorite white dresses on the rack, and more champagne with custom glasses on the nightstand. I was asked to get ready for a dinner reservation. Will patiently waited for me as I flitted around the room. We headed to the Tavern Bar, and as I walked in, I was surprised to find all of Will and I’s loved ones gathered in the room. He knew how much my family means to me, so I was immediately filled with tears and joy. A cherry on top of an already euphoric day.

Will's POV: In August 2023, I took the big step of asking her parents for their blessing to marry their daughter. Even though I wasn’t too worried about their answers, I was still just as nervous as I was when I sent that first message to her in high school.

I realized that I wanted this proposal to make up for all the years of me not being the most creative in our relationship (this is the area where she thrives in). I wanted the proposal to be in a place that means a lot to us, and around people that mean as much. I brainstormed for a good 3-4 months on how I was going to do it. I wanted to do something so outlandish that neither she nor I would ever think of doing. So I came up with an idea to do something super crazy: a hot air balloon over the Santa Ynez Valley.

That moment in that balloon when I got down on one knee, and being able to see that famous smile of hers that I love, was the happiest moment of my life.

After the proposal, we drove to the hotel where we were going to stay, and I surprised her with all of her family and friends. That day turned out better than I could have ever imagined. It was the best day of my life.

Maddi's POV: And now we are here, ready to celebrate our love with everyone we love, and everyone who has been a part of our 7 year long story.

Will's POV: To my beautiful bride to be, I love you. Thank you for changing my life for the better. The last 7 years have been unforgettable and I am so looking forward to spending the rest of our lives together.