I first met Kyle Reed at Shawn and Rebecca Gregory's Spring Fling party in 2019. The most notable interaction was during a game of badminton, when I was nailed in the nose with a birdie by the man I had no idea was my future husband. For almost a year after that, my most vivid image of Kyle was the expression of maniacal glee as he hit the birdie as hard as he could, followed by the instant remorse as I clutched my nose.

I met Kyle for the second time when I subletted a room in his college house in spring of 2020. Arriving at the house in Atlanta after a redeye flight from Alaska, I was exhausted and sweaty when I rung the doorbell. When Kyle answered the door, he immediately began carrying my bags up to my room like an angel. From that moment, I was an absolute goner.

Through years of long distance, many international and wilderness adventures, Kyle has confirmed millions of times over that, just as I thought when he picked up my bags without hesitation, that he is the most thoughtful and kind person in the world. Beyond that, he is screamingly funny, incredibly intelligent and driven, a wonderful father to our child (dog) Coquito, and more than anything, my very best friend.

I am so excited to celebrate our upcoming marriage, and believe me when I say: I am the luckiest woman in the world!

In spring of 2019, I was playing badminton in Shawn and Rebecca Gregory’s backyard with a group of ORGTeers (those in our outdoor program, Outdoor Recreation Georgia Tech). It was neck and neck, and with the birdie launched to my side, I leapt into the air to deliver a powerful blow and the game winning shot. My triumph turned to horror when of delivering victory, it smacked a beautiful woman square in the face.

I knew of Alexandra, but we had never formally met until that moment. As I piled on apologies, she smiled assured me that it was no problem at all. I couldn’t help but hope we’d talk again, and I almost landed the opportunity to drive her home but ended up taking a friend.

Fast forward to the fall- I hadn’t seen Alexandra again, but found out she would be moving into our ORGT house. This house consisted of 8 men, and she would be changing that to 7 and 1. I was thrilled of course, as I wanted to get to know this captivating woman. I knew I’d have to get out ahead of the other guys and bring my a game.

Fortunately my chance came immediately- I was the first moved into the house in the spring and was cleaning the fridge when Lex arrived, fresh out of a hunting trip in Alaska which followed several months in south east Asia. After helping her to her room, instead of crashing after a long day of travel, she came down to help me clean the kitchen which she had obviously not contributed to dirtying. We got to talking and let me tell you, quickly I knew I was incredibly lucky to have a semester with her.

Long hours of talking in the house turned to cooking together, unofficial dates to Amelie’s, and then real dates before February was out. The rest is history as they say- I moved to Colorado and Lex followed, where we have started our own little family together by adopting our puppy coquito. I proposed in Paris in April of 2024 and it has truly been the best year of my life. My heart bursts with love for this woman and I’m proud to share that with the world! Anyways I didn’t read the prompt for this story so here’s what you get. Love you all and see you soon!