Our Story (from Bailey's perspective):

In September of 2020, I was 24 years-old and had all but given up on dating. After countless, unsuccessful Bumble and Hinge dates (ask me for some funny stories about this) and too many awkward set-ups, I was starting to get worried I would never get married, let alone find a boyfriend. So, I deleted all of my dating apps and threw in the proverbial towel.

In mid-September, I met my friend Gracie Griffin. Initially, we were introduced at Bible Study and then reconnected at a birthday for Liv McCarrick. That night Gracie was talking about how her husband, Wil, had this large group of friends from high school he still kept up with. Naturally curious, I asked if he had any single friends. Gracie said “Well, there is one that I think you may be interested in, why don’t you meet him tomorrow?” Wil and Gracie were planning to hang out in a group and the guy was going to be making an appearance, as well. Tomorrow obviously was so soon, but I thought “why not?”

The next night I had dinner at Gracie and Wil’s house and then we met up with everyone. Upon first glance, I noticed his cute dimples and curly hair and was definitely itching to be introduced. If I remember correctly, Gracie called him over and stated this was Austin. We ended up spending most of the night just talking. I was pleasantly surprised that he too liked music and was surprised to find out he was more into movies than me, which I found very attractive.

Oddly enough, the next night the exact same group was hanging out at his friend’s lake house. Initially, I was hesitant to go because I didn’t want to seem overzealous but I really wanted to see him again. Of course I actually ended up going. This was the night when I was completely sold. I was even more impressed with his music taste that night after he was so excited to tell me about the Fleetwood Mac album, Rumors, that he had been listening to a lot recently.

Also, later that night, we ended up going over to one of his friends' houses and he spent a fair amount of time charming the socks off of the parents there. Needless to say, I was very excited about that because I wanted to make sure that whoever I potentially would bring home would impress my parents, as family is such an important thing to me. Around the time I had decided to head home, Austin conveniently asked for a ride home (I later found out that he had fully intended to spend the night but wanted to stay with me longer). When I dropped Austin off, I asked him if he wanted to go Bible study with me Tuesday night and he quickly said “Yes.”

Now, fast forward two years, I am so excited to be married to the love of my life and feel so blessed that God put Austin in my life. Never have I met someone whose interests align so well with mine and knows so well how to help calm and steady me. He pushes me to do hard things and always ensures I am not underestimating my own talents and abilities. Honestly, I know that God made him specifically for me.

Our Story (from Austin's perspective):

Let’s rewind back to the late winter / early spring of 2020. During this time, I had a steady job, I had just

lost some weight, gained some newfound confidence and life just seemed to be clicking at this point.

Naturally, the next step was to seriously enter the dating scene for the first time in my life while I was

riding this positive wave. Unfortunately, in March of 2020, the world all but shut down due to the

pandemic. While COVID-19 brought up a lot of problems for so many people, one under-discussed issue

that arose, which impacted all single young adults in the world was a lack of dating opportunities. With

offices, restaurants, churches, gyms, and bars all shut down how was a single person possibly supposed

to find a new relationship?

Six months or so had passed and I had come to terms with the reality that a pandemic and finding a

girlfriend were a tough combination to work with. While playing video games late one night with Neilson

Jacobs, I got a random text from Gracie Griffin saying that she had found an awesome girl for me that I

had to meet. After a baron few weeks of no dating, I was intrigued. Gracie told me she invited this girl to

a get together we all had planned to go to the next night. Upon first sight, I immediately knew I was

interested. I eventually was introduced to Bailey that night and we hit it off! The main selling point was

that she had seen and loved Quentin Tarantino’s new movie, “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.” I knew

I wanted to date Bailey right away. We ended up hanging out again the next night and she invited me to

her Bible Study the following Tuesday night. When she asked, I immediately said yes, but afterwards I

began thinking to myself, “is this too much, too soon?” All of the past dating tips I had received ran

through my head of, “don’t move to quickly,” or “make sure to take things slow at the start.” Let’s just

say now looking back, I have no regrets of saying yes.

Over the next few weeks, we got the opportunity hang out in different settings and with different

people. I quickly learned that Bailey could talk to anyone and could fit in with ease to any conversation,

which was very important to me. All my family and friends I introduced her to were big fans and she got

glowing reviews from everyone! She was a smart Godly woman who accepted me for who I was. Pretty

quickly, I knew Bailey was everything I was looking for and I was so thankful that she had been brought

into my life.

Two years later and we have created a new life together, which I am so excited to continue to explore.

We have made amazing memories together, taken awesome trips, grown together spiritually,

strengthened old relationships and created strong new friendships that will last a lifetime. Bailey has

pushed me to strive for more and explore my abilities at a deeper level. She makes me want to be kind

to those around me and find deeper meaning in everything I do. Marriage is a scary undertaking, but

Bailey makes this easy and I can’t wait to continue to grow together as husband and wife.

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