In September 2011, Andrew and I met by chance when our schools, Briarwood and Moody, just happened to be sitting one behind the other at that year's MidSouth Marching Band Competition. My friend Hannah (shoutout to you, girl) thought he was cute, and so we began talking to Andrew and his friends- though Andrew was a little shy. We ended up exchanging numbers that night, but not much happened after that. One year later, Andrew texted me and asked if we were at MidSouth again, and unfortunately we were not. At this point, we began staying in touch a little more and a few months down the road we figured out that we were both going with our respective churches to the same Winter Retreat Strength to Stand Youth Conference in Gatlinburg, TN. After that, we would see each other briefly every year at these conferences, and got to know each other more and more throughout the years. I always knew there was something special about Andrew, but I never knew exactly what was to come. We both ended up at Auburn University and saw each other a few times, but not often. It was not until the pandemic hit in March of 2020 right before Andrew graduated that we began spending more time together and began dating, and very quickly realized exactly why the Lord had put us in each other's lives.


Andrew proposed on June 2, 2021 at Mount Cheaha at one of our favorite sunset watching spots. It was right beside a hidden waterfall, and near the tree where our initials are carved. I was under the impression that I was going hiking with my brother and sister-in-law when we pulled into the parking lot of the park and saw Andrew's truck waiting for me. He had left me a pink rose (my favorite) and a note telling me what was going on and where to find him. In between the happy tears (and wailing) because I was so surprised/excited, Maggie and Scott pulled out of the trunk of their car a change of clothes so that I did not have to get engaged in tennis shoes and nike shorts- super thoughtful. I quickly changed, still crying tears of joy, and we were on our way. After following the pink rose tree markers (and hiking down the mountain in four inch wedges- thank you for those, Allison), I found Andrew and he got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife! A genuine dream come true.


It may have taken nearly 10 years for us to finally be together, but we feel that our story is a true testament to how intentional the Lord is in all that he does and who he places in our lives. We can't wait to finally be husband and wife!