We’d known each other years, after sharing lots of mutual friends at Mississippi State. One day while spending time as friends at his house, I mentioned that we didn’t have any good memories together and that “we should make some better memories.” This clearly struck something in Jeff and I both, because not three weeks later he invited me to attend a Luthi concert, I invited him to get ice-cream, and we hung-out multiple times over the next month as friends.

Fast forward a few weeks, the night before Valentine’s Day he invited me to a concert in Birmingham with friends. Funny enough, we were the only two that showed up!! We’ve been together ever since!

The week of the proposal I had fallen on a run and seriously scuffed myself up, particularly my left hand! This freaked out Jeff which was odd because he's normally not a worrier, but I didn't think much about it. A few days later I had spent the day at work and packing to move to my new apartment across town in Birmingham, and it was well into the evening that I realized I hadn't spoken to Jeff at all that day. I thought that was odd, so I called him and he wouldn't pick up, he would only text. Finally he called me back and told me to meet him in Mountain Brook in an hour at the Botanical Gardens. I was super confused since it was a Wednesday and he lived in Auburn, but he loves to just pop - in and surprise me, so again I didn't think too much about it.

I went to the Botanical Gardens, and he called me and said he wanted to meet at Mountain Brook Creamery instead for ice-cream. I was still so confused, and when I showed up, he wasn't there either! Beginning to get annoyed and also very suspicious, I called him and asked what was going on, to which he just told me to calm down and come around the corner. I walked down the hill to find him with a bouquet of peonies and down on one knee, asking me to marry him! It was so spontaneous, I was completely surprised and I said yes! The ring barely fit because my hands were still so beat up from my fall, but it was so funny that we'll always remember it!