I don’t think I ever gave much thought to the weight the word “yes” carries until I met Bailey. It’s such a small word, yet it’s often the overlooked catalyst for many of life’s adventures.

Now, sitting here, writing our little love story, I can say with certainty that from the moment I first said yes to Bailey, my life was never the same.

I just didn’t know it yet.

Our relationship started like any good relationship does — with me not knowing he even existed.

Bailey and I first crossed paths in the fall of 2023. I had just moved to Tallahassee that summer to start my job as a journalist for the Tallahassee Democrat, while Bailey was working as an analyst for the Florida Public Service Commission.

In August, the young professionals group at our church had a kickoff event. In a sea of familiar faces for Bailey (who had been in Tallahassee for five years at that point), mine stood out.

But he thought I was older than him and never approached me. I continued about my life, oblivious that I had caught anyone’s eye.

Several months later, one of our friends hosted a Halloween party we both attended, and though I may not remember it, Bailey attests that we had our first conversation.

It wasn’t long after that he figured out I was, in fact, younger than him, and he spent the next month gathering intel on who I was and whether I was dating anyone.

Regardless, he was set on asking me out.

At a January 2024 church event, he invited me to his going-away party (despite not knowing me whatsoever) and asked for my phone number — just to keep me posted on party details, of course.

And two days later I found myself on a date with a man who was set to leave in three weeks.

From the early morning coffee date that ran into a late lunch, to the day I watched him walk away through the airport’s security was a blissful whirlwind.

Bailey spent three months in Newport, Rhode Island, attending Officer Candidate School to begin his journey to becoming a Navy pilot. In true boot camp fashion, he was stripped of most comforts, including his phone... and hair (he's still traumatized).

We wrote and mailed letters back and forth for those three months, and true to his word, Bailey wrote me one every day.

He graduated that May, and since then we’ve been navigating life together from different time zones, miles apart (179 to be exact, but who’s counting). Through it, we’ve watched God’s graces pour into our lives and learned the true meaning behind the saying, “Distance makes the heart grow fonder.”

Bailey proposed March 1 at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge – the same spot we went on our fourth date, the date he said he knew he’d fall in love with me.

There I gave him my third important “yes,” and very soon, I’ll be giving him my fourth.

I’ve written hundreds of stories in my time as a journalist, but none that I’ve been more proud of than this. And the best part is, the story is really just beginning.

We are so excited to share our special day with you, and we thank you for all the love and support you’ve shown us – individually and together – along the way.

Here’s to a lifetime built on “yeses”!