Katie and Phillip met between mutual friends at Oddstory in Chattanooga. Katie was in a season that didn't involve dating but Phillip had different plans. The night they met was actually the second time they had encountered each other. The first time, Katie had no interest and Phillip could tell. The second time, ironically enough, at Oddstory once again, they were at a friends birthday get together. Phillip and Katie sat by each other the whole time without saying a word to each other due to being in other smaller conversations. By the end of the night, as some of the group was heading else where, Phillip asked Katie if he could come with. Trying to friend zone him, she agreed. They drove to the next place together. When they arrived, instead of finding the group they hardly new, they decided to get a drink and find a seat on their own. Katie was very stand-off and interrogated Phillip with questions. By the end of the night Katie invited Phillip to church, he asked for her number and by Sunday, Phillip followed through by arriving early at church, joining Katie and then asking her to dinner, for later that week. Katie hesitated by she agreed, and she is glad she did. Their first date was at Universal Joint. Though very opposite individuals, they found they had similar values and talked for the next 3 hours until the restaurant closed. A week later Katie asked Phillip what he was truly looking to get out of this. His response; "I'm looking for a wife" and Katie responded "great! I'm looking for a husband." By their 3rd date, as they continued to dive into their long term goals, the couple knew that whatever may come their way, they both were committed to working through any conflict to practice dating for marriage. The couple became engaged 9 months later on May 23rd, 2025 and decided to elope on July 15th, 2025. The couple wanted to hold true to Gods word and get legally married before moving in together. Since then the couple has be eagerly planning their Wedding day to celebrate with family and friends!

Since we've been married, we couple have had our ups and downs, and now understand why everyone says that marriage is hard work. Through everything, we have committed to go through the growing pains, learn how we can become more like Christ, learn how to love each other in the way that the other needs, and understand that marriage is to make each other more holy, not just happy. We are so excited to celebrate what we have accomplished and our new understanding of marriage. We hope to continue to learn from all you are able to come, and to share all what we have gained from our first year together. Thank you for your prayers and support! We can't wait to see you.