Our story begins at St. Joseph Church in Nashville, TN, in August 2019.
Nolan and his best friend, Freddy, started attending St. Joe’s after hearing that the legendary Catholic musician Matt Maher played there. After getting to know the parish community, they reached out to the music director to get involved with the music ministry.
Meanwhile, St. Joe’s had been Sarah’s parish her entire life. She was fully convinced she’d never meet her future husband there… well, joke’s on her.
One day, Sarah’s dad, Joe, shared the news that two young musicians were joining the choir. Sarah was skeptical, but of course her first question was, “Are they Catholic?”
At the time, Sarah was attending college in Louisville, KY, while Nolan was settling into life at St. Joe’s and growing his brass quintet (yes, he’s very talented).
In 2021 their paths finally crossed when Sarah came home for a weekend visit and met Nolan and Freddy. According to Nolan, she caught his eye because of her beauty Sarah, for her part, was just thrilled to see young people in the choir—but she definitely had her eye on Nolan.
Over the next year, Nolan became close with Sarah’s dad, and Sarah, still in Kentucky, began affectionately referring to Nolan and Freddy as “The Trumpet Boys.”
Fast forward to October 2022. Sarah and Nolan met again—this time, they actually had a conversation! They were both invited to a release party for a mutual friends symphony (yes, we’re both music nerds). Sarah brought two friends along, but it quickly became obvious to them that someone at the party had eyes for her. With a little help from her friend, Sarah and Nolan finally struck up a real conversation. Naturally, they bonded over their love of liturgical music—and yes, they even discussed which hymnal was best (told you we were nerds).
Another year and a half went by before they crossed paths again—this time on March 17, 2024. Nolan wasn’t even planning to attend the 8:30 a.m. Mass that day… but it must’ve been meant to be.
After Mass, Nolan made a bold move—he asked Sarah out to coffee! She said yes (to her first date ever!), and over the next two weeks they texted daily, sharing interests and getting to know each other better.
Then came their first official date on April 1, 2024. Nolan nervously picked Sarah up, and they went to a mediocre Thai restaurant (Sarah thought it was fine). Still, the evening ended too soon, and Nolan asked to see her again, the very next day! She said yes to a wonderful second date despite a looming tornado warning.
Over the next year and three months, they spent nearly every weekend together—either Sarah driving to Nashville or Nolan making the trip to Louisville (which was most often the case). They went to weddings, tried amazing restaurants, saw shows, and supported each other in countless ways—especially attending each other’s performances.
As time progressed their love grew deeper and deeper. They both knew they wanted to get married and build a life together.
Finally, it was time to pop the question. (Sarah and her friends may have preemptively planned a bachelorette party, so Nolan was kind of on a deadline!) While visiting family friends in Tampa, FL, Nolan worked up the nerve, got down on one knee, and... well, you can guess what she said.