The Bride and Groom first met in April 2011 when Michelle started working at Buffalo Wild Wings in Tuscaloosa where Casey had also been working. We both hung out with the same group of friends from BWW, often, like every day (shout out to our dubs crew!). It was usually the routine where once the night shift had ended, the group of cool kids who were working that night would head over to our favorite spot, The Gray Lady, for a night cap. After a few years of the two of us spending a lot of time together amongst our friend group, it dawned on Michelle that Casey was a real catch. She decided she should snatch him up before someone else did and sent him a text that said "Hey! I think you're great :)" after getting home from one of our nights at The Gray Lady. Casey was going home to Illinois that next day, but the two agreed to share a Nitro Lefthand Stout together once he was back in sweet home Alabama after the holidays. The two cooked a nice dinner together and shared a beer together about a week later sometime in January 2014 and the rest is history! Sidenote: Apparently Casey tried to 'make a move' many a times before Michelle decided to make the first move. That's up for debate still!

Most that know Michelle know that every summer since the summer she was born she goes to Arkansas with her family to see her grandparents. Arkansas holds a very special place in her heart. Casey went to Arkansas with her and her family in the summer of 2015 and he finally understood why she loved this place so much. She's thankful he loves it just as much as she does.

Casey and his family had a similar summer routine and went to St. Augustine, Florida every summer to see his grandparents. Likewise, St. Augustine holds a very special place in his heart as well. St. Augustine is a common topic of conversation at the Pocopanni household for obvious reasons. Michelle mentioned to Casey a few times that she would love to go so that she could better picture what they all talk about. Casey thought this was a great idea and planned a trip for them to go to St. Augustine in October 2017.

They arrived in St. Augustine late on Thursday night. On Friday, Casey took Michelle to St. George Street where they went to all of the little shops that he had such fond memories of as a boy. They continued their day by grabbing some lunch and touring around Castillo de San Marcos Spanish Fort. Michelle instantly fell in love with the beauty of this quaint little town.

They had dinner reservations at 7:30, so after their full day they went back to the room to get cleaned up before dinner. The hotel where they were staying had beautiful gardens and courtyards, so they grabbed some wine before dinner and decided to enjoy the scenery. Casey recommended that they take a picture in one of the adorable courtyards before it got dark, and Michelle agreed - they hadn't taken many pictures to document the trip yet. He found a couple sitting across the garden to take their picture and to Michelle's surprise dropped to one knee instead of going in for a picture! She was in complete shock! He popped the question and she quickly started "ugly crying." Luckily for her, Casey actually had the couple video recording the whole thing so that they can watch it over, and over again, for forever!

The surprises didn't end there! After many happy tears, some more wine, and discussions about their future together as Husband and Wife they walked over to dinner a few blocks away. As they were walking up the stairs to the second level of the restaurant Casey started in nervously saying, "Well, since I took you to my special place, I wanted to....." he paused as they rounded the corner, "invite all of the people most special to you!" AND MOST ALL OF HER FAMILY, HIS FAMILY AND THEIR CLOSEST FRIENDS WERE SITTING AT THE SAME TABLE TOGETHER (commence Michelle's second "ugly cry" of the night)!

The rest of the weekend was spent celebrating with family and friends in this place that they both have grown to love so much!