Our story begins before we actually had met. Abbie and Blake both attended the Briarwood School in Houston and the year was 2011. Abbie was in 6th grade while Blake was a senior in high school. Abbie knew who Blake was and thought he was very cute, as did some of her girlfriends. Blake, thankfully, did not know who Abbie was. She was in, what her daddy lovingly called, her “ugly duckling” phase. Years go by and both date other people, but Abbie ever so often, thought about Blake.

The two met for the first time in October 2016 at a charity kickball tournament. Abbie was a senior in high school and Blake was a 2015 graduate of Shriner University. Blake’s high school soccer coach and a student council sponsor invited him to play on the student council team. As luck would have it, Abbie was a member of that team. The day of the tournament arrives and Abbie sees Blake, who she has had a crush on since she was a preteen. Abbie tries to act natural and nonchalant, and realized that Blake was probably not even noticing her. Also, anyone who knew Abbie, knew she was not a very sporty girl, and not a good kickball player. Tennis was more her style. This made Abbie extra nervous having to play in front of Blake, who was very athletic and played soccer in college. The tournament ended and the two went their separate ways.

The following month, Blake was invited to another Briarwood function, and sees Abbie perform on stage as Sharpay, in High School Musical. His interest was peeked, but again, they went their separate ways. Eventually, Abbie gets a friend request on Instagram from Blake. She was so excited but did not want to get her hopes up or think anything of it because she knew he was seeing someone. A month passes and Blake adds Abbie on Snapchat, and oh my, she was so excited and a little hopeful deep down. A couple weeks pass and Blake comments on one of Abbie’s stories and the two start messaging each other. They bonded over both attending The Briarwood School, politics, and their love of good food, and traveling. Their friendship grew and they had their official first date on May 12, 2017. Blake attended Abbie’s high school graduation party later that month and met her family, and extended family. Little did anyone know, this was the beginning of their love story.

Blake and Abbie dated throughout the summer going to movies, visiting museums, watching Arsenal soccer games, the Houston Symphony to hear Harry Potter music, the beach, tried new restaurants, and basically had an incredible summer. Soon, the summer of 2017 came to an end. Abbie started her freshman year at Texas Tech University, 8 hours away, and they agreed to continue dating long distance. Thank goodness for technology. They spent the next three and 1/2 years, face-timing, talking on the phone, and having many face-time date nights watching movies and eating Uber Eats. Blake traveled to Texas Tech when he could, taking Abbie to her sorority formals, the balloon festival in Albuquerque, MN, even meeting her in Florence, Italy when she traveled abroad her sophomore year. Abbie graduated from college in December of 2020, and Blake asked Abbie to marry him during an incredible surprise proposal at the Museum of Natural Science on March 12, 2021. That evening, they celebrated with their families at their favorite Italian restaurant, Roma.