Ryan's Perspective:

My earliest memory of meeting Abi was when we were 13 years old in the 7th grade. The story starts when I was at my good buddy Drayton's house. He lived in Sterling on The Lake, and we probably got bored of playing ping pong in his basement and decided to go to the neighborhood basketball court. Drayton knew a girl from our middle school who he invited to the basketball court to hang out with us. When she arrived, she brought her friend as well. Her friend's name was Abi. I thought that Abi was very cute, and while we all played basketball, I had the genius idea to joke that I "broke" my ACL. Yes I know, very cringy, but she thought it was funny and remembers it to this day. After that one time hanging out, I didn't see her again for about 2 years.

Fast forward to freshman year of high school, and I had biology class with Mrs. Grennan. This class was very fun for me as I had it with a couple of my friends. What made it even better was that the cute girl from the basketball court in 7th grade was in the class. Long story short, we quickly became friends and started to sit next to each other in class. During this time I realized that I had developed a huge crush on her. Eventually, I got her phone number, and we began to text all the time and played tons of Game Pigeon (games you can play via iMessage)! She was super smart, funny, and beautiful, and we shared a lot of interests. One interest we both had was band. Abi played the flute, and I played the trumpet. She knew that I did marching band, and I urged her to do it next year. She agreed, and that was the next stage in our relationship.

During the summer after freshman year, we kept texting, and I shared the feelings I had for her. Luckily for me, she had the same feelings. That same summer our pre-band camp started. We hung out together and started our "talking stage". We shared our first kiss and talked about progressing our relationship further. Soon after this I asked her to homecoming, which ended up being our first date!

We went with my best friend Nick and Abi's best friend at the time, Ella. We all went to Biba's for dinner and took homecoming photos. After dinner and pictures, we went to the homecoming dance and followed that by hanging out at Ella's house. One of my all-time favorite moments was lying outside in the grass looking up at the stars that night next to Abi. From there our relationship officially started!

The next 6 years went by very quickly. Our lives changed a lot, from living through COVID, to going to college, and just getting older. One thing that was always the same was our love for each other. We grew inseparable, and eventually, I decided that it was time that I talked with Mr. Hartter. I told him how much I loved his daughter and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Mr. Hartter gave me his blessing and gave me a piece of advice that Abi and I will use for the rest of our lives, to center our relationship around the Lord and continue to go to church together.

I planned the engagement at a place special to both of us, Sanford Stadium, the UGA football stadium. We both love Georgia football and are now lifelong Dawg fans. Go Dawgs! Abi and I had senior pictures, and when we arrived at Sanford Stadium, our photographer made us go back to back and then had Abi turn around. I let my knee hit the ground and proposed to her. She said yes!

Our relationship has been the most consistent source of joy in my life. Abi is the most incredible woman I've ever met, and I am so thankful that I get to spend the rest of my life with her. She pushes me to be a better person and is always there for me. Abi, I love you!

Abigail's Perspective:

I first met Ryan briefly in the 7th grade at the basketball courts in my neighborhood. I remember thinking that he was so funny and cute, but we didn't see each other again until our freshman year. We both had Mrs. Grennan for Biology, and we quickly became friends. I once again noticed how funny (and cute!) Ryan was. He could always make me laugh, was smart, and was just so fun to be around. Thanks to lots of Game Pigeon and marching band practices the summer after our freshman year, we soon confessed our feelings for each other and had our first date at Homecoming of our sophomore year.

Since that first date, we have been a constant in each other's lives. We continued to date all throughout high school. From taking as many classes as we could together to doing three years of marching band with each other, I can truly say that Ryan was, and is, my best friend. Following the craziness of COVID and our drive-thru graduation, we started at different colleges. Ryan attended the University of North Georgia for two years before transferring to UGA at the start of our junior year. Despite the changes and transitions of this time, one thing was still the same: the love we shared for each other.

Once Ryan was at UGA, we had the best time together. We once again took as many classes as we could together and experienced so many fun things like finding all the "free" T-shirts we could to attending as many sporting events as possible. We made some amazing memories that I will cherish for many years to come. The best memory will of course be when Ryan proposed to me at the top of Sanford Stadium. He truly pulled off the biggest surprise during our senior pictures by proposing. It was a day that I had been dreaming of for so long, and I got to say yes to forever with my best friend!

In the last seven years, our relationship has grown and changed, but I will forever be thankful that we found each other so young. From school dances to high school and college graduations, we have been able to watch each other grow up, which has been so special. Ryan has been, and I'm sure will continue to be, a steadying force in my life, and I am so grateful for the man that he is. He is always a source of encouragement and love, and I could not imagine my life without him in it. Ryan is everything I have prayed for, and I am so thankful that the Lord gave us each other. I cannot wait to marry you, Ryan. I love you!