When Sarah and Cade Wessel met on the first day of sixth grade, an instant friendship sparked between them.
The Bradenton, Florida, natives remained close throughout the years. Then, in 2018, during their senior year of high school, their relationship took a romantic turn and they started dating.
One memorable day that year, Cade found himself in class with a couple of friends when the forms for submitting senior yearbook quotes circulated.
“Some were trying to think of funny things to say, others were attempting to be profound,” Cade, 24, recalls in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE. “But I sat there, isolated myself and thought, ‘I’m going to do something legendary.’ “
Sarah and Cade Wessel on their wedding day.
Olivia Derocher Photography
In a moment of spontaneity, Cade jotted down the now-famous line, “Twenty bucks I marry Sarah Dill.” He kept his quote a secret, not disclosing it to anyone, not even Sarah, who attended a different high school.
“I wasn’t nervous to write it. I knew in my heart of hearts that was how I felt. Whether or not it came true was not entirely up to me, but I felt like it was,” he says, adding Sarah found out about the quote after someone from his school sent her a picture.
Years later, on Saturday, April 27, Cade’s yearbook quote came true. He and Sarah tied the knot together in Sarasota, Florida, at the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium.
For the wedding, Cade’s dad called in a few favors to have a 10 ft. x10 ft. blown up image of the senior quote, along with their engagement photo in front of an erupting volcano, and the lyrics to a Bruce Springsteen song.
“It’s literally right out of a rom-com,” Sarah, also 24, says. “Now, as we reflect, we realize senior quotes were due at the end of January, so we had only been dating for a few weeks when he submitted it. When you know, you know!”
After their wedding, their photographer Olivia Derocher posted a video about Cade’s yearbook quote on Instagram. The post featured a photo of Cade walking down the aisle flashing $20 in his hand.
Since then, the post has gone viral, garnering 1.4 million likes.
“I kept that $20 and the two other $20s handed to me that night safe in an envelope at home in hopes to frame and hang them in our house some day,” Cade says.
“Bet on yourself and your partner,” he continues. “When you know you know couldn’t be more accurate, and the fact that I bet on that feeling to get us here today is the proof in the pudding. Follow your heart: If it’s in the right place, then you’ll be right where you’re supposed to be.”
