Our Story
A year before they met, Taft was a busy Ward Mission Leader dodging monthly stake meeting invites, while Kaylie was finishing her mission in Vietnam.
Eventually, Kaylie returned home to Provo for the winter semester. God clearly had a plan: Kaylie was called to the stake missionary committee, Taft’s roommate was put in charge of stake missionary work, and Taft was finally dragged to his very first stake meeting. It happened to be Kaylie’s first meeting, too.
Taft walked in with a bit of attendance shame, scanned the room, and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Kaylie. He instantly found his personal reason for being there.
Kaylie walked into the meeting nervous and kept to herself due to not knowing anyone. She couldn’t help but notice Taft, however, when he walked in with a light and welcoming personality that made everyone feel seen and happy to be there. Kaylie frequently caught him staring and turned it into a game by making him uncomfortable by suddenly locking eyes. Taft technically stood no chance, but when something he said made Kaylie laugh, he caught a bright glimpse of hope for his future.
As soon as the meeting ended, Kaylie slipped away before Taft could ask her out. But if there’s one thing to know about Taft, it’s that he keeps trying.
He found her on Instagram. After consulting his mom for advice, and waiting until Monday to message his sister Ellie on her mission, he crafted the perfect text. The message was simple: he thought she was beautiful and wanted to get ice cream on Friday, June 27th, 2025.
That first date changed everything. Through a summer of traveling with Kaylie going to Colorado and Taft going to Europe, they kept making the effort to stay close. Once Taft returned, they knew they had something special.
As soon as it made sense to him, he asked Kaylie to officially be his girlfriend Wednesday, August 13th, 2025 as they were under the stars watching the Perseid meteor shower.
Ever since, they’ve built a beautiful life of shared traditions. There were hard times in their relationship but they were few and far between and very uncommon.
Taft and Kaylie would go to football games at BYU together, where Kaylie would help Taft down the bleachers after he hurt his ankle. Taft would be there for Kaylie as she was passing her tests to become a certified nail technician. They would go to church together and create their own traditions to celebrate the life that they have made together. They are so excited to continue making the life that they have to live with each other and to be married to each other.
We are so excited to stop counting dates and start counting years married to each other. We can’t wait to celebrate with you!