The first time I met Peyton was definitely not how I imagined meeting my future husband. I was 13 years-old making chocolate chip pancakes with my new best friend, Alexis Hopkins after our first sleepover together. Alexis asked me if I could make some pancakes for her brother since he would be leaving for baseball practice soon and needed to eat. I was happy

to do it, but in true Melisa fashion I got distracted, burnt the pancakes, and had used all the leftover batter to do it. I already felt awful, but then the most handsome boy I had ever seen came

out and sat at the table. I was so embarrassed, but I still handed him the pancakes telling him it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if he didn’t eat them. 15-year-old Peyton laughed and took a bite. He

told me I had added enough chocolate chips to cover up the burnt taste. Then he finished the entire plate. I’m sure to high school Peyton he was just being nice to his sisters’ new friend but

to middle school me it was one of the sweetest things anyone had done.

Thankfully, Alexis and her family didn’t hold my burnt pancakes against me and I got to spend the next 9 years hanging out with one of the coolest families I had ever met. The whole

time I thought the absolute world of Peyton and grew to adore him more and more. I had never met anyone so loving, goofy, sweet, and overall amazing. While I definitely had a crush on

Peyton I worked very hard to keep my crush a secret and did a very good job at hiding it. One reason being that I never thought in a million years that Peyton would like me back.

There were a few years that I didn’t see Peyton at all. We were both in college, doing our own thing and most of the time our paths didn’t cross during school breaks. However, I

began to notice that the few times we did see each other something was starting to change, but I wasn’t quite sure what it was. There were stolen glances, flirtatious banter, and excuses to

spend more time with each other.

Eventually, Peyton and I got invited to the same event. It was the first time that we ever got to spend one on one time with each other. This time it was very clear that something was different. By the end of the event Peyton officially asked what it would take for me to come visit him in New Orleans and I replied, “Well, you’ve never asked.” I left that event on Cloud 9 and for the next month we talked every day. Text messages, facetime calls, and silly photos sent back and forth. We planned every detail of my trip and spent lots of time just getting to know each other more.

After a month the day of my trip finally came. Our first date was on the steamboat Natchez celebrating the end of his second year of med school. After getting off the boat I got my first tour of Bourbon Street where Peyton took me to a bar playing live music and we shared our first dance in the back while they played Purple Rain. The rest of the week felt like magic and I think it’s pretty safe to say that we fell hard and fast in love. We made the most amazing memories that I will never forget; like dancing in the kitchen after dinner at Jack Rose; sharing our life stories outside of Café Du Monde; Peyton spitting a hurricane on me at Pat O’Brien’s; and so many more. We were having so much fun that we ended up forgetting that I had to leave, and I completely missed my flight home. I am incredibly glad I did though because that was the night Peyton told me that he loved me for the first time and asked if I would be his girlfriend.

We started dating knowing that we were going to be long distance and we had no idea how long that would be the case. We tried flying back and forth for 3 months but we started realizing that every time it just got harder and harder to say goodbye. Clearly, we did not put up with distance for very long because at the end of those 3 months I found myself driving to

Louisiana with all my stuff packed in the back of my Honda Civic moving 3 states away from all of my friends and family. I truly believe it was in God’s plan too. Peyton asked me if I would

consider moving to Baton Rouge with him on my birthday in July of 2021. I told him I could realistically see myself being able to pull it off by December since I thought it would take me a

few months to find a job and a place to live. When I got home that next day I started looking for jobs and apartments. In the following two weeks God opened all the right doors and I found

two jobs and got approved to move into a little apartment in West Baton Rouge.

I made the official move from Florida to Louisiana on August 27, 2023 right as Hurricane Ida hit. I will admit I felt a little silly driving straight into a hurricane as I watched everyone on

the other side of traffic speeding the other direction. Fortunately, I made it safely and the best two years of my life began.

Baton Rouge was a new city to both me and Peyton since he had been a true New Orleans boy for most of his life. We had so much fun discovering all that BR had to offer. One of my favorite Baton Rouge memories with Peyton was going to see Garth Brooks perform live at Tiger Stadium. We got to be a part of the Callin’ Baton Rouge stomp that registered as an actual earthquake throughout the city.

With Peyton about to start his residency we know that we won’t always get to live in Baton Rouge but if there is anything that the past 2 years have taught me it’s that if I’ve got Peyton and Appa by my side then I’ve got all I need. The three of us can make an adventure out of any place we go and as long as we’re together then we’re home.

I can’t wait to celebrate the official unity of my little family with everyone on June 3, 2023. The joy I have in knowing I’m going to be Peyton Hopkins wife is indescribable. I truly feel like the luckiest woman in the world. Geaux tigers!

Things to Do

Disney Springs

Universal CityWalk Orlando

Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens

The Wheel at ICON Park™