Carrie Skulley — Kevin Slourney

Since their junior year at Yosemite High School in Oakhurst, when Kevin Slourney won the girl who once acted like he wasn’t there, he and Carrie Skulley have been inseparable.

For six years following, they managed a long-distance relationship at different colleges and took turns pursuing higher education, while the other took a supporting role.

Skulley, now 29, had begun classes for her masters in Political Science at University of Riverside when the couple bought their first home together in Perris in Riverside County.

On their final walkthrough, with keys in hand, Slourney, 28, began: “I want to make some wonderful memories with you,” he said, “and I want to start right now.”

He got down on one knee in their naked-new kitchen — a blank slate symbolizing an exciting new chapter in their lives — and proposed.

The couple wed in January inside the elegant and stately ballroom at the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda. Glowing-gold accents adorned the walls and huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling of this replica of the East Room at the White House. The couple chose to complement the grand décor by placing wedding photos of former presidents and their wives at each of the guests’ tables.

The newlyweds still live in their Perris home and constantly remind each other how lucky they are to have found one another.

“We’ve been inseparable ever since,” said Skulley. “This has been the most enjoyable time of my life.”