As small as our class was at Samford's Brock School of Business, we didn't officially meet until our junior year. I always knew who Eliza was... the beautiful girl in the business school who was winning these entrepreneurship awards, I just had never taken action on getting to know her. The Lord brought us together for the first time at a dinner to honor the recipients/inductees of the Beta Gamma Sigma Business Fraternity. It just so happened that both of our parents were there and got to meet each other the same night we met. Eliza and I disagree about the exact timing of her saying this but either at some point during the evening or some time after we were dating, Eliza said privately to me "I'm kind of surprised you're here" (there was a minimum GPA requirement)...ouch. Other than that, it was a fantastic night and I remember thinking two things. First that we had a lot in common and second that this girl was seriously beautiful. I think I even mentioned something about Eliza to my parents after that dinner. Eventually I built up the courage to ask Eliza out on a date. To my surprise, her answer was not a resounding yes. If you have met Eliza, you know this girl has standards and apparently in my current state, I did not meet those standards.

Even though I got completely shut down, for some reason I was still intrigued and highly interested. I had to figure out who this beautiful, fun, smart, grounded girl was and more importantly how to get her to go on a date with me. I came up with a plan to sway Eliza: allow me to take you on a date after graduation, which was a semester away. She agreed and later admitted it was because she didn't think I would remember. I remembered. I made myself a calendar reminder to ask her out when she agreed to my plan, but I wouldn't have needed it. She was all I could think about those few months.

Eliza didn't quite give me the cold shoulder that semester though. We started spending time together here and there in the lobby of the business school and sometimes even at parties on the weekends. Eliza actually let me bring her as my date to a fraternity formal, but only as friends. We got to know each other as friends before we started dating which I think was great for our relationship. As I got to know her, I gained so much respect and appreciation for who she was before we ever dated.

Eventually the day came where I could finally take Eliza on a date. We went to dinner and out for a drink after in Birmingham. It was memorable for a few reasons, other than just because it was our first date. The timing was after the fall semester ended so all of our friends had gone home and on this specific night, the weather was terrible. I think we were the only people in the bar we went to to grab a drink, it felt like we were the only people in Birmingham. We had enough fun that Eliza agreed to a second date and the rest is history...I've been getting to hang out with my best friend ever since.

That was five years ago. I can genuinely say these five years have flown by. It has been incredible and so fun watching Eliza continue to grow into the strong woman of faith I know her to be. I can't believe the time has finally come where we get to make this official. We couldn't be more excited.

We are so honored that you would even consider coming to support us. Our friends and family mean the world to us and celebrating with all of you is the only way we can imagine starting a marriage.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Love,

Jordan