Ashley & Adam in Overland Park, KS

Jayhawk fans Ashley and Adam were students at The University of Kansas when they met in the spring of 2002 at The Hawk, a popular watering hole in Lawrence. Both were bartenders, but the busy college hangout made it difficult for anything more than small talk. Each was headed to Sanibel Island for spring break though, so they made plans to get together with all their friends while they were there. “We all had a great time hanging out together,” says Ashley, “and after spring break, Adam asked me out on our first official date.” The two had loads in common, and within a month and a half of their first date they’d already met each other’s families. “After that we both felt our relationship was really something special,” reveals Ashley, now 24 and a fifth-grade teacher. The Bride Ashley Souders The Groom Adam Jones The Date July 18 Two-and-a-half years later, Adam, also 24 and a pharmaceutical sales rep, proposed on a boat in the middle of the Missouri river. “I was so shocked that I didn’t immediately give an answer,” admits Ashley. Eventually, after asking Adam if he “was sure,” she said, “yes.”