We both attended Texas Tech in the fall of 2015, and actually lived in the Murdough dorms just one floor apart. We only saw each other in passing, and never really got to know each other despite having a handful of mutual friends. Fast forward to when Clay’s little sister, Emma, graduated from high school a couple of years later. Ariel attended the graduation party with her roommate at the time, and one of Clay’s lifelong family friends, Lauren Long. This weekend was when we first took an interest in each other, but decided to go separate ways through the summer.

When we both returned to Texas Tech that fall, it didn’t take long for us to enter each other's lives again. We were both enjoying college life together, and decided to take things slow and see what happened. Well, long story short, we simply never stopped wanting to be around each other and eventually became boyfriend and girlfriend.

Following graduation, Ariel became a pediatric nurse and started working in Lubbock, while Clay was attending graduate school at Texas Tech. Once Clay completed his Masters, he took a job about four hours from Lubbock, in the small town of Alpine, Texas. The next couple of years were spent making the long distance work while we both began our careers.

Clay, and many others, came to Lubbock one weekend for (what Ariel thought) was to attend a Koe Wetzel concert, but turned out to be our engagement the next day. Wedding planning began in a hurry, but was quickly brought to a pause when we found out we were pregnant with our son, Carter.

We have been so blessed to spend the last couple of years getting to know and love each other more, while navigating the crazy world of parenthood. We are so excited to finally be back in the wedding planning process, and can’t wait to spend our special day with so many people we love. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of our story and supported us throughout our relationship!