On May 17, 2025, Elyse met her friend Madden for brunch at Antoine’s Café in San Clemente. It was the perfect halfway meeting point for the two of them, and Elyse randomly selected that particular café in that particular town on that particular street on that particular day. Or so she thought! A few storefronts down, Corey was having coffee, catching up, and reading scripture with his brother Taylor. Elyse, having attended Westmont College in Santa Barbara, had known Taylor, as well as Corey’s middle brother, Trevor, who also went there, but had somehow never met Corey, who graduated one year before she got there.When Madden and Elyse walked over to Sur Coffee, which is where the guys had met, Elyse automatically assumed that it was Taylor and his brother Trevor sitting there. She did briefly wonder why Trevor looked so different, but she went with it, immediately walking up to the table, giving them both a big hug, and asking how they’ve been.On the flipside, Corey and Taylor had, perchance, chosen to go to coffee that day, and Taylor had even wanted to go to a different coffee shop, but Corey just felt in his gut that “Sur was the way to go.” Fast-forward to a very excited Elyse walking up to their table and giving them both a big hug. Corey was left wondering, “Who is this girl? Where did she come from, and why do I not remember meeting her?”They began chatting, and slowly Elyse realized this was an entirely different Stephens brother! As she heard about Corey’s work with special needs children, his faith, and first-hand witnessed his friendly and warm personality, it became clear that he was extremely special. She particularly noticed how bright and joyful his eyes were, and that they were filled with the Holy Spirit. They stood in the middle of the coffee shop, talking for about 40 minutes, and then they parted ways. Corey turned to Taylor and said, “Who is that? She is my kind of girl. Why haven’t you set me up with her before?” At the same time, Madden turned to Elyse and said, “I should totally set you up with Corey!”That night, Corey texted Elyse to go out, and they set the date for May 30. However, even in the time between their meeting, between texting and calls, it was clear that there was something special happening. Elyse, trying to play cool on the outside, was not playing it so cool on the inside. She has a journal entry from May 21, 2025, where she writes in all capitals, “I’M GOING TO MARRY COREY STEPHENS!!!!!”Their first date lasted about 10 hours, where Elyse showed Corey around her hometown, Chino Hills, and ended with him meeting her parents, Craig and Becky. The second date was equally incredible, where Corey showed Elyse around his hometown of Dana Point, and his new home of San Clemente, ending the night with her meeting Grandma D, and his parents, Jim and Val.On June 16, Corey asked Elyse to be his girlfriend. A month after that, Elyse had written a list of 100 things she loved about Corey. After hearing that, he told her that he loved her. Their first months of dating were during the summer months, filled with talks and conversations, trips to the beach, sports, time with family, going out to eat, and, mostly, falling head over heels in love with each other. In late August, they got to take a trip to Pinehurst, North Carolina, to visit Corey’s Uncle John and Aunt Leah, as well as a visit to Virginia for Corey to meet Elyse’s grandparents and her Uncle Joe. The fall season brought a new layer of busyness as Elyse resumed her MFT program and Corey continued pouring into his e-commerce business; however, they still made tons and tons of time for one another. The holidays held special memories together, and they were able to have Christmas Eve and Christmas together with both of their families.They continued to pursue one another, enjoying going to church with each other on Sundays, having beach days on Saturdays, working hard during the week, and eating lots and lots of steak! As Corey’s proposal drew closer still, he and Elyse were able to continually pursue one another, feeling so thankful that the Lord had given them one another in this life.On May 16, the date that Corey and Elyse celebrate their one year of knowing one another, they spent the day walking through their most memorable spots, such as where they had their first kiss at the jail cell off of Los Rios St. (it was romantic at the time, trust us!), going to the table where they met at Sur Coffee, and spending time reading the book of the Bible they had been going through, Proverbs, as well as thanking the Lord in prayer for all He had done in this past year.They were going to end the night at their favorite spot, The Chart House, but Corey had something better in mind. They went to the section of beach down from the iconic San Clemente Sea Street called “The Hole,” and there, Corey proposed and asked Elyse to be his wife. Their family was on the bluffs above, and they cheered and rushed to the beach as soon as she had said yes.Now they are planning their wedding, and would love for you to be a part of our joyful celebration of God’s goodness. They are celebrating on November 20, the Friday before Thanksgiving, at the Swanner House in San Juan Capistrano, and would love to have you there!