In 2012, I was living in midtown Atlanta with my good friend Mary and Talmadge was living in Charlotte with his good friend, Hunter. One weekend, Talmadge and Hunter decided to come to Atlanta for the Falcons/Panthers game. And the night before the game... they decided to hit the town.

On that same night, Mary and I also decided to hit the town for a girls night out in the Virginia Highlands. At some point, all four of us found ourselves at the same dive bar, Hand in Hand.

Talmadge and I met that night at Hand in Hand.... exchanged numbers... and continued to talk over the phone and via text until he came back down to visit a few months later. We stayed in a long distance relationship, seeing each other every few weeks and taking turns driving to Atlanta or Charlotte, until I moved to Charlotte in the summer of 2014.

Fast forward to August 2016.... Talmadge and I decided to take our puppy Penny to the park. The weather had been rainy all day and I didn't want to go, but Talmadge convinced me otherwise. We strolled around the lake and as we crossed the bridge, he dropped down to one knee and asked me to marry him! If you have seen our engagement pictures and remember the outfit I was wearing, you know that I had no idea it was coming.

I know I speak for Talmadge as well when I say that we are so excited to start the next chapter of our lives together. And we can't wait to celebrate the start of that next chapter with all of you on November 4, 2017!!

xoxo