Many relationships begin as friendships, and even amidst long distance, traveling for work, a pandemic, and at times living hundreds of miles apart, Gabe and Ragan are no exception.

First meeting in Nashville, Tennessee in 2019 while Ragan had a nursing job and Gabe was starting his music career, the would-be future couple (although completely unbeknownst to them at the time) struck up a friendship between live music sets and songwriter nights at local spots that Gabe often performed. The two found themselves hanging out more and more, and with Gabe’s impeccable timing, the more official “dates” finally occurred in the short weeks before Ragan’s next move to Phoenix, Arizona to continue her nursing career. Shortly after Ragan settled into her new job, she and Gabe - who both share a love for the outdoors - planned a 5 day trip to Zion National Park in Utah. In the fall of 2020, Ragan picked up Gabe from the Phoenix airport, and the two embarked on what would become the trip of a lifetime, a 7 hour car ride through the Arizona desert...thank the lord for country music and podcasts!! A 5 day trip is a test for any couple, but incredibly this road trip to Bryce Canyon, the Narrows of Zion National Park, concluding with a stop at Flagstaff, Arizona, would become an extremely special foundation for the two, who in their travels began to see kindred spirits in each other. Of course, Gabe’s home remained in Nashville, and over the next two years, many plane flights, phone calls and facetimes, Gabe

and Ragan went steady, making time to explore Arizona, the mountains, and getting to know each other’s families in Nashville and Alabama.

In February of 2024, after nearly 4 years of long distance dating, music tours, and discussions surrounding starting a life together, Gabe proposed to Ragan in the beautiful but snowy outdoors of Flagstaff, Arizona during a blizzard. Like a champ, he did not get cold feet and she weathered the cold with pure joy. Through their friendship, their happiness, and their mutual experience as travelers, they knew that they had found the perfect travel companion for journeying through life together. On October 19, 2024, they will be wed in Alabaster, Alabama surrounded by their families and friends.

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