Evan and I met in Baldwin City, KS in May of 2009. He was living with Ricky Moritz in Baldwin City and working in Louisburg, KS at the time. I was finishing up my sophomore year at Baker University. One of my good friends Taryn had invited me over to Ricky’s house for a party. I had never met Evan, but always heard about him through mutual friends. We were having a good time at the party, when this guy walked in the house with his bulldog. I asked him who he was in a snooty sort of way, and he responded, “Uh I live here, who are you?” I got really embarrassed and quit talking to him. Later, we ended up talking and realized how much we had in common. He got my number, took me on a few dates, and the rest is history.

There is a saying at Baker that if a couple shares a kiss under the Baker grapevine, they are bound to get married. I have to say, Evan and I have shared a few kisses under that infamous grapevine. Now here we are six years later about to get married!

A lot has happened during that time period. I graduated from Baker in 2011, and now I’m in medical school at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. I plan to graduate in May 2017. Evan returned to his home town in Chanute, KS to work in his family’s oil servicing company. He has worked very hard and I can tell each year how much more knowledgeable he becomes. It has been a challenge trying to chase our dreams while living in two separate towns/states. We make it work and usually get to see each other every weekend or every other weekend.

When you date for as long as we have, you get to experience various joys and sorrows that other couples may not get the chance to encounter before getting married. The joys we have had together are too numerous to count, but a few stand out in my mind. Evan was one of my number one fans during my soccer career. He showed up to almost every home game, many away games, and he even flew to Alabama to watch me play in Nationals at my very last game. Keep in mind that Evan is NOT a soccer fan. This meant more to me than he could ever know. We were lucky enough to go on many vacations together as well. We went to the Bahamas where Evan asked me to marry him, L.A. to watch the Lakers and go to Disney Land, we went to Cozumel, Mexico with my family, Cancun, Mexico with Evan’s family, Oklahoma to see Thunder play, various float trips, car shows with Evan’s ’68 Camaro, and trips out of town to see friends we love. Evan was there to celebrate with me when I was accepted to medical school, but he was equally there for me when my grandfather passed away. We both got to share in the joy of raising Harley (Evan’s bulldog), but also grieving his passing. I celebrate with Evan as he makes new strides in his career, but I also try to be understanding that it isn’t always easy to be working long hours outside in the snow, sleet, rain, freezing cold and blazing heat. He has such a good attitude about it even though I know it is tough. I am so lucky to have had the chance to grow up with Evan. Thankfully we have only grown closer.

As you can see, Baldwin City holds a special place in our hearts. This is why we are choosing to get married there. We hope you can become a part of our history and attend the wedding. We have many more milestones we both want to reach in our lives. We appreciate all the love and kindness we receive from our friends and we can’t wait to begin this journey.

Love,

Chelsea and Evan

P.S. We are finally moving in together! We will be residing in Bonner Springs, KS for the next few years.

In July of 2014 Evan proposed to me in the Bahamas. I had assumed we were going on the trip to celebrate our five year anniversary, my birthday, Evan’s birthday and me completing Step one of my boards. I was so busy studying for boards that we didn’t get to celebrate any of those things. Evan decided to plan a trip to celebrate, and I thought what better way to decompress from months of intensive studying. We stayed at the Sandals resort at Emerald Bay and had a blast! I didn’t think Evan was going to propose because we had already been there three nights. We had been wanting to eat at one of the resort’s “fancier” restaurants and so we decided to do that on the fourth night. Evan told me unfortunately all the restaurants were booked (which was a lie). He surprised me with a private dinner on top of one of the towers overlooking the ocean. It was absolutely gorgeous that night. At the end of the meal the butler brought me a “special” dessert. It was a box made out of chocolate and it read “Something special for Chelsea.” I opened it up and inside was a gorgeous solitaire diamond. Next thing I knew Evan was down on one knee asking me to marry him. There was even a photographer that popped out of nowhere and started taking pictures which was really funny. The phone call home to our parents was really fun and they were happy for us.

Vendor’s List:

Photography | Jerry Wang Photography

Ceremony Venue | Baldwin First

Reception Venue | Abe and Jake’s Landing

Florist | Cranberry Market 

DJ | DJ Connection 

Catering | Brancatos Catering

Cake | It’s a Sweet Treat Day

Dress Designer | Allure Romance 

Dress Salon | Bridal Extraordinaire 

Tuxedos | Michael Kors / Weaver’s

Wedding Planner | Donna Curran