It was a rainy day in Ft. Knox, Kentucky on November 30th, 1997. Amy and Joseph welcomed baby girl #2 (a one Miss Hadley Grace) to the world. Fast forward to January 11th, 1999, and Amala and Shannon welcomed baby boy #1 (a one Mr. Grayson Parker) to the world in the very SAME hospital!

But although we were born in the same hallway, we didn’t end up meeting until a couple years later in Boston. You could say that our first date was on the 4th of July in 2001. I (Hadley’s) was determined to impress everyone at the cul de sac party with my sick dance moves and very loud yelling. My parents were less than impressed with the display and we unfortunately have a video that captures me getting in trouble and totally killing the mood. Before I could really get established in my most epic pout, though… here comes Gray! He toddles over to hold out his chubby little hand with the sweetest grin to ask me to dance! All is right with the world! But… I said no. Had to stomp away as I was very committed to the pout. He was undeterred and decided to just dance solo (his dance moves really haven’t change so the wedding will surely give you a great visual).

Through the years, though, I came to regret the decision to pass on the dance. 10 year old Gray with the perfect Justin Bieber flip and a sheen of (probably very stinky) sweat running inside between rounds of Nerf wars with the neighborhood boys was my middle school crush- although he didn’t pay me any mind. Sigh.. unrequited insta-love is tough.

The tables turned by the time I was about 14 and simply the coolest person to walk the planet. On a trip to visit the Sentell family in South Carolina I somehow let Gray talk me in to a now infamous cheek-kiss picture. I was much too cool to be bothered by his attempts to “flirt”, though, and was ready to kick him out of the girls lounge where we set up camp to discuss all of the worlds most important matters.

By the end of high school, Gray and I reached a truce that hinged upon a very important shared understanding: we both did not enjoy the other. Any times we had to hang out during Forced Family Fun Time (an army family staple) we made sure to do so with the barrier of other people. Gray sighed at the thought of listening to my endless chatter and over the top energy. I couldn’t understand why Amala and Shannon, two of the most fun people I know, had a son that grew up to be so boring! Quiet and not laughing at all of my jokes… rude. Through a couple seasons of shared family holidays, and endless days of summer vacation- we made time to hang out specifically only if other people were there to *actually* be around.

This was the careful truce we held until spring of 2018, when I really can’t even tell you what changed. Suddenly, screaming out the lines to “I’m just a kid” by Simple Plan seemed so much funnier because Gray was there, too. The Austin sunshine seemed so wonderful that I couldn’t believe he and I both had the crazy idea of trying to go to college anywhere else. Happy hour just seemed happier… you get the picture. On a day out with “the moms” as we lovingly call them- we ended up staying out once they went home to spend time just us two. It was a blast. March 29th, 2018 was really the start of the rest of our lives, even though we didn’t know it at the time.

We told the moms first and there reactions were disbelief, shock, and then a combined “don’t tell the dads”! So we kept our change in feelings to ourselves until we really did feel like this relationship might be worth a shot. I think once everybody got over the whole “if you break up in a month it’s going to be reeeeeal awkward since we already have vacation plans booked together” stage we really had an instant support system of two families that already loved us and loved each other! It was also such an outpouring of love and funny stories from the families and friends we had both grown up alongside. Now as we take this step to actually get married, all I can say is that it has all been so delightfully comfortable and has not felt like a big change in the best way. We are truly best friends that lucked into finding the perfect partner from day one, whether or not we realized it. I have to give a shout-out to our parents for picking out a really cool friend group and allowing us to just fit right in! We are so excited to be married and to share this day with the people who have always been there.

As we say… our friendship plate is full and we are so lucky that our “chosen” family is the tight knit group that includes, you, dear reader! Thank you for coming with us on this crazy cruise and ultimately putting up with so much of our antics before now, too. We love you. 💓