Written by John Sawyer

Our story begins in the Fall semester of 2018, our freshman year of college. Kailey and I had both joined a campus ministry, the Navigators, and attended their annual Beach Retreat at Panama City Beach. It was the first official morning of the trip, as we gathered for breakfast, that I first noticed Kailey. I saw her, bumming it with bed hair and no make-up, and she had caught my eye for the entire trip. Although I couldn’t find a way to take my eyes off her, she had no idea that I even existed. The following weeks went by, friend groups had formed, one that included Kailey and me. (She noticed me, FINALLY.) Our friends hung out all the time, from sunup to sundown, with some classes in between. By the end first semester, everyone, including Kailey, knew that I really liked her, but Kailey wanted no relationship.

Going into the spring semester of 2019, most of our friends had gotten into relationships, eventually making Kailey and me the official ‘single’ couple whenever we hung out. Obviously, the more we spent time together, the more I caught feelings, and Kailey started to develop feelings, without telling me. After the emotions became uncontrollable, Kailey and I had to sit down and have a conversation about my feelings for her and we eventually came to terms that we would stay friends and respect each other. (Still without her telling me that she liked me.) The semester came and went, unlike my feelings for her which stayed for the long run. We ended the spring semester, becoming even more flirty with each other, but staying friends.

The summer was what changed the status of our relationship. I had decided to try to get over Kailey by living the summer for me. I worked all day, hung out with hometown friends, and even began talking to someone. Kailey had been talking to her friend Mar about how she wanted to confess her feelings for me on our trip to Mar’s hometown of Butler, NJ. Therefore, they were keeping tabs on me to see how I was acting throughout the summer, trying to decide if I was to be worried about or not. For the most part, I stuck to their plan, until I decided to go on a date with one of my co-workers. Well obviously, that set off sirens for Kailey, creating a predicament of whether she should still confess her feelings or not. As a last-minute decision, Kailey called me before I left for work the next morning, confessing her feelings (a 40 minute conversation that could’ve been five… she was nervous). I cut all ties with the other girl and became committed to Kailey. We kept our ‘relationship’ a secret and made it official in New Jersey, on June 25, 2019. And now here we are, getting married and ready to spend the rest of our lives together :)

Wedding Party