Rehearsal Dinner

Wedding Day

Calvary Baptist Church

Ceremony

Lilly Creek Farm

Reception

Wedding Ceremony

Our Wedding

Part I (Mastermind)I’ll have to credit my mom with the beginning of Stone and my relationship; She kept up with Stone since he transferred from Furman University to Mississippi State, since my dad and several family members also attended Furman. While watching him pitch during the Mississippi State National Championship year, she and my dad nicknamed him the “Furman Boy.” After seeing Stone post Christian stories and seem like an overall great guy, and since I was single, my mom told me I needed to try to get to know that guy. So after following each other on social media, I began planning my opening. With Father’s Day 2023 coming up, I found a photo of my dad wearing a Furman hat and posted it prominently on my instagram story. It worked like a charm, and I got a DM from Stone Simmons saying something like “Whoa, your dad went to Furman? I went there too!” To which I replied “No way!”&nbsp;Part II (Dating)We began talking more over the phone while I was studying abroad in Italy, and Stone told me we were going on a date when I got back to the States. I said “Alright,” and we went for ice cream shortly after I got home. It didn't take long to forget what life was like before Stone, and now I can't imagine a life without him. After Stone met my family (on our 3rd date), one of my sisters declared that she wanted Stone to be her brother-in-law. It’s safe to say they fell for him almost as quickly as I did. We began dating officially about a month after our first date, and the next year was filled with lots of baseball games, a dozen bouquets of flowers, sweet notes left on his truck, date parties, graduations, and many trips to Tupelo.&nbsp;Part III (The Proposal)After a couple of months of long-distance due to summer baseball, Stone was back in Mississippi. After a few weeks, I had a feeling he had spoken to my parents about proposing. I talked to my mom about when she thought it would happen, and she convincingly told me it would be a few more months and not to think about it. Stone mentioned another baseball couple who wanted to go on a double date sometime, and we planned one Saturday to go to dinner with them. The day of the double date—Saturday, September 7th—rolled around. The day seemed normal as Stone and I played pickleball in the morning with my parents and drove to Starkville that afternoon to get ready for our “double date.” I told Stone I wished we were going to Taste, one of our favorite restaurants, for dinner instead of where we had planned. We finished getting ready for dinner, and Stone said he had left his wallet at the baseball field and we would have to run by to get it. We parked behind the field, and Stone hopped out of the truck to get his wallet from inside. A couple of minutes later, Stone knocked on the window and told me no one was at the field, and he could sneak me in to see the facility—something I had always begged to do. As we walked inside, I could tell Stone was nervous—something very irregular for him—and I had a feeling we might not be going on a double date after all. As he led me onto the field, Stone pointed out the jumbotron, which displayed 1 Corinthians 13:7: “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”--one of the verses my dad had recited to my mom when he proposed to her. Stone then knelt, and I said “Yes!” Afterward, we celebrated with friends and family in the lofts above the Dude (and ate lasagna from Taste). The night was everything I had dreamed of and more, and we are so excited for the future ahead of us!

Maury

Our Story&nbsp;I was first introduced to Maury through social media. In a way, it stinks to say that I met my future wife on Snapchat. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. By the time I decided I was interested (I already knew, I was just giving it some time) and wanted to actually start a conversation with her, I had already gone through her social medias to learn more about her. I was instantly drawn to her Instagram page that was dedicated to her art. I certainly didn’t know much about art, but I recognized that she had a rare talent and I knew that I liked what I saw.&nbsp;If you know me, you know that I say what I think. So the first thing I said to Maury was “your art is so cool.”&nbsp;Quickly, Maury and I hit it off. We recognized that we were total opposites in most ways, but we had fun conversations together and we were mutually interested in each other and the differing ways we went about life.&nbsp;Eventually, I took her on an ice cream date. That night after the date, I described her to one of my closest friends as “super happy go lucky” and “constantly smiling and laughing.” I loved her face, her smile, her demeanor, her creativity, and everything else I knew about her at the time. I never thought I’d hear myself saying something like this, but it really was love at first sight.&nbsp;I had to ask her to be my girlfriend twice before she said yes, but we’ll skip the details on that part.&nbsp;About 3 months after our first date, on October 19th, 2023, we had watched a movie at Maury’s apartment and then got lost in a long conversation. When I got in my truck to leave, I wrote in my Bible journal to document what we had talked about and what I had felt. I wrote, “It’s 1:34am and I am sitting in my car about to head home. Today is the day that I realized that I’m going to marry Maury. What a great night.”&nbsp;Since then, I’ve fallen more in love with Maury every day. Here are some of my favorite moments:&nbsp;For our first date party together, Maury and I dressed up as Ariel and Prince Eric; I’ve never even seen The Little Mermaid.&nbsp;I became a Tupelo Golden Wave fan after attending a football game, several of Rebecca’s dance recitals and many of Celia's tennis games, volleyball games and cross country meets.&nbsp;Maury came and watched me pitch in many of our fall scrimmages. Once, she told me that I “pitched so well!” after I gave up five runs in one inning.&nbsp;Maury and I got to spend time together in Texas with my family over Christmas break.&nbsp;While in New Orleans, Maury shared the Gospel with one of her classmates, who claimed to be a devil worshiper.&nbsp;Some time later, she shared the Gospel again in front of much of the Mississippi State art department at one of her exhibitions. This boldness was something that I admired greatly, and I gained so much respect for Maury as a result.&nbsp;Maury came out with her first collection as a professional artist. I’m grateful we got to spend that moment together.&nbsp;Lastly, of course, I had the honor of asking for Maury’s hand in marriage at Dudy Noble Field, my very favorite place.&nbsp;--&nbsp;I have been blessed beyond measure by Maury. Words cannot do our story justice fully, but she is without a doubt the perfect person for me, and I love her dearly. I can’t wait for what the future has in store for us!

Stone

Our Story

Photos

Wedding Party

Q + A

Hotel Recommendations:

Hotel Tupelo

Hilton Garden Inn Tupelo, MS

Travel

Art gallery representing a diverse collection of Mississippi Artists (including the bride!) located in Downtown Tupelo.

Caron Gallery

Birthplace of Elvis Presley Museum!

Elvis Presley Birthplace

One of our favorite coffee shops in Downtown Tupelo

Maury & Stone

Maury & Stone

Things to Do

Caron Gallery

Elvis Presley Birthplace

Crave

Lost + Found Coffee Company