Mariah Kador sits in NSU’s newsroom working on a radio edit for her video production class. She stares at her Mac opened to Adobe Audition and adjusts the audio levels of her project. Thirty minutes go by and Blake Chutz walks to Mariah with a bag of food for her, and she takes a break to eat with him. The rest of the afternoon they stay there until she finishes editing.
This moment is one that encapsulates their relationship. The two of them are always there for each other and can be found together almost every minute of the day.
“Mariah and I were working on a story, and Blake came along with us,” Naydu Daza Maya, Mariah’s NSU TV News Service partner, said. “Immediately when we got to the event, Blake set up the camara, grab the tripod and just started getting shots of the event.”
When the pair announced their engagement, friends and family poured love and congratulatory comments into their announcement post on Instagram.
But navigating their senior year of college and planning a wedding and their future at the same time has not been the easiest for them.
The two of them are 21 years old and they will have their wedding in September of 2024. Even at the age of 22, the pair is still marrying each other younger than Louisiana’s average age of marriage ranging from 26 to 28, according to an article in regain.us.
“Sometimes, I’m like what the heck, this ring means marriage,” Mariah said. “It feels normalish, but sometimes I’m like what the heck, especially because we know we want kids so it’s a little bit complicated.”
Mariah and Blake come from different backgrounds. Mariah’s parents got together at 14 and her parents married at 17. In contrast, Blake’s parents got together when he was younger and divorced when he was 14.
“Those differences you don’t think about,” Mariah said. She explains that since their relationship started in high school, they never thought the way they grew up and their own cultural differences would be a factor when planning their wedding.
So, for them having these blocks and joining their families together has been a difficult process.
“The differences that we had growing up have really been shown throughout this whole process and you don’t really notice until you’re put in a different environment,” Blake said.
Despite these differences, their commitment to each other and their love is the driving force to continue to plan their future together.
“I knew the time was coming,” Blake explained that he was going to propose to Mariah before the end of this year. “It was the next step in the relationship for us.”
Blake brought Mariah to the jeweler, and she picked the shape of the gem and designed the ring that she wanted, and from there he executed the proposal.
On Oct. 11, 2023, Blake proposed to Mariah with flowers spread on Natchitoches’s Second street park, and a sign propped up by an easel with the words “Will You Marry Me?” displayed on the canvas.
After four years of dating and eight of being friends with each other, they know they are meant for each other because of the friendship they started with. Mariah said that anytime she receives good news or is having a hard time with something Blake is the person she talks to first.
“What works for us is the fact that she is genuinely by best friend,” Mariah said. “Whenever you find someone like that like be there for them, no matter what.”
For them their foundation composed of trust, love and friendship has been the reason they have chosen to stay together.
“Just be – “Mariah started. “Best friends,” Blake finished.
Finding someone with that type of connection is something they stress shouldn’t be taken for granted. Whatever the next step of commitment is for that couple they encourage them to take it at whatever age they choose.
“If your foundation is solid, do it,” Mariah said. “If you have a strong solid foundation, and you have the support of the people that you care about the most, I say do it [get married].”
But despite how perfect the relationship may seem to be, it still takes time and effort to reinforce and not let challenges affect the relationship.
“Be open to your partner, be honest,” Blake said. “If you have problems in a relationship, it’s not you versus the other person. You just got to understand that there is a lot of give and take in a relationship, so you might be able to give 100 percent, but the other person might not be able to, so you have to help them get to that.”
And while the pair continues to prepare, choosing bridesmaids and groomsmen, they pick out their wedding venue and plan all the details, they focus on the future and on the happy moments that are to come.