We owe a huge thanks to Evan and Lillie Eastabrooks for bringing us together! Back in 2022, Stephen had a formal for his fraternity, BYX, in Orlando at Universal Studios. Evan and Lillie were convinced they had the perfect girl for him—Gracie. And, of course, they'd been doing the same for her, telling her all about this guy named Stephen.

Stephen was excited for the trip, but for some reason, never thought to reach out to Gracie before the weekend they’d spend together. So, after eight-hour drives in separate cars, we finally met outside the gates of Universal Studios—on what was essentially a 3-day blind date! The weekend was full of theme parks, friends, and fun, but at the end of it, there wasn't exactly a "future date" set up. Stephen didn’t quite pick up that Gracie was interested, but thankfully, Evan and Lillie were there to give him a gentle nudge.

The very next week, Stephen asked Gracie out to a date at Rook and Pawn in Athens (a place that would later become special to us, as we'd spend many more dates there). From that moment, we quickly realized just how much we enjoyed being around each other. We started to build a strong friendship, and it didn’t take long for us to start officially dating. Before we knew it, we both realized this was something real.

We had so much fun navigating college together, spending time in Athens, and making countless memories. Very quickly we became each other’s best friends, and we each saw in the other everything we’d always wanted in a future spouse. Summers meant a lot of trips back and forth between Cumming and Augusta, and we logged quite a few miles on our cars—but it was always worth it.

After graduation, Stephen moved to Atlanta for work, while Gracie stayed at UGA to complete her master’s degree, officially making her the smartest one in the relationship ;). We continued to make those long drives to see each other on weekends. Then, in April 2024, Stephen proposed to Gracie in one of our favorite spots in Madison.

Since then, Gracie graduated with her master's, and we even had the chance to take a family trip to Italy! Now, Gracie is working in Atlanta too, and we're just down the street from each other, finally getting to spend even more time together. We’re so thankful for this new chapter and so excited to be getting married soon and beginning the rest of our lives together.

Looking back, we can’t help but feel overwhelmingly grateful that God brought us together, and we’re just so excited for the future.