Nathan & I both grew up in Floyd County, VA and first met around 2005 when we were attending a church youth group. There was a 6-year age difference, so we were acquaintances at best until late 2018, when our friendship slowly started to blossom.

We started exchanging casual, friendly chats on social media. We shared memes and made each other laugh for the next year and slowly our chats became a daily occurrence. I realized that I was thinking about him, his sense of humor, and our banter throughout the majority of my days. By early 2020, I knew I was interested in him romantically, but I wasn’t sure if I would ever actually get the chance to see if it could be anything more.

Those of you that know Nathan well may know that he is very cautious. He thinks on things for a long time before making a decision. I, on the other hand am a bit more emotional when making decisions. I often make choices quickly based on how I’m feeling in the moment. So of course I was so anxious for him to ask me out. I threw out all my funniest, flirtiest lines and come backs. I wanted there to be no doubt that I was interested.

Then finally he asked me out. We chatted about it for a while beforehand because COVID had been picking up and quarantines, stay-at-home mandates, and business closures were on the rise. I was living in Roanoke, VA at the time & Nathan was in Charlotte, NC - about 3 hours away. It took a little planning but we decided to go out one weekend he would be in VA visiting his parents.

So finally, on May 23, 2020 we went for our first date and surprisingly, despite not seeing each other in person for over a decade, it was so comfortable and easy. He was respectful, hilarious, kind and warm. By the time I went to bed that night, I knew that was it for me - I was all in. Previously I had never wanted anything to do with a long distance relationship and was not open to the idea of it at all. But suddenly I found myself open to the idea. I had to try, right?

I graduated from nursing school a few days later, and in June, I started a job as a new grad RN in an intensive care unit, so my schedule varied and weekends weren’t off limits. Over the next couple months, we visited each other when we could, and our feelings grew with each visit. He was emotionally intelligent, witty, loyal, patient, and had this ability to communicate that had me in awe.

With him being more on the cautious side of things, it forced me to slow myself down a bit emotionally though. I had a tendency to fall fast, which had landed me in trouble many times in my past. So while I appreciated the balance he brought, I practiced a bit of patience, but he was moving a bit slower than I would have liked. Patience had never been easy for me, and on July 5th, I told him I wanted him to be my boyfriend - a statement, not a question - and thankfully he agreed. The next month, on August 2nd, I made the first move again, and told him I loved him. He said it back.

We made long distance feel easy. I realized that long distance in and of itself wasn’t an issue - it was the effort that was put into it from both sides. So while we lived 3 hours apart, we spent an average of 2 weekends together a month, sometimes more, sometimes less depending on my work schedule. We prioritized and challenged each other all the while growing in love over the next year and a half.

In April of 2022, after many discussions about it and admittedly a bit of pushing from my side, I relocated to Charlotte and we moved into our first house together. Nathan had never lived with a romantic partner before so he was more nervous than I was, but after almost 2 years, I couldn’t do the long distance thing anymore. I also had a rule that I would never marry someone before living with them. After all, that’s when you learn the most about a person. I believe that seeing someone move through life, day in and day out is the only way you can truly know them inside and out.

So we built a life together, and learned each other’s habits and quirks. We compromised and argued and learned how to fight well and forgive, all while loving each other as best we could. He showed me what it was like to be in a secure, healthy relationship for the first time in my life. We helped each other in different ways, he was grounding me a bit, while I was pulling him out of his shell a little. He went from a “no indoor pets” kind of person to the best cat dad ever to our 3 sweet kitties.

Then, over a year later, it finally happened. He asked me to marry him on May 23, 2023 while at a concert. We had taken a weekend trip to Raleigh to see Bad Omens, a favorite band of ours. They just so happened to have a concert there on the our anniversary so it almost felt like fate. It was a beautiful, private engagement. There was no big fuss, or public involvement. He simply took me aside during intermission and asked. It was perfect. I don’t like to be the center of attention in a crowd. I didn’t want any big to-do, I just wanted to marry him and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to say “of course I will” to the love of my life.

Shortly after, we set a date & started planning. Which brings us to now, mere months until our wedding day. More in love now than ever, and more sure of this path we are on. We are currently in the process of buying our first home together and will be moving in February. 2024 is already starting out full of blessings and we are so excited for what’s to come.

We thank God, our families & our friends for looking out for and loving us through our relationship. We really hope that you’ll be with us on Saturday June 1st, 2024 to celebrate this next chapter of our lives. We love you all.

Haley did a wonderful job with “our story” and it’s hard to follow it up. I’ll say that my relationship with Haley has been a really wonderful, rewarding journey. Our first date was filled with laughs, and we’ve been laughing every day since then.

Our relationship officially started in 2020… which was an awful year in this world for a ton of reasons. However, getting to know Haley made it bearable. With everything shut down for Covid, we were able to focus on one another. I’m so grateful for that year, as tough as it was.

Now 4 years later, we’re getting married! It’s a dream come true really. I’m thankful that God has continued to bless our relationship. I’m excited to be a husband. I’m grateful that Haley said “yes” because I love her a TON. She’s a wonderful person and I couldn’t have done any better. I think we’re slowly becoming the best versions of ourselves, and I couldn’t ask for a better partner for that journey. Also, we still laugh everyday… unless I leave dishes in the sink.

Thank you for reading this.