Our love story is my favorite to tell, and why I truly believe in fate (what is meant for us will always find us).

The 4 main characters you will find in this story are:

Sydney Legg (Author/Now fiancé of Tanner)

Tanner Hatcher (Eligible bachelor/Now fiancé of Sydney)

Moxie Hatcher (Damsel in distress/Matchmaker)

Tim Wells (Best friend/Former boss of Sydney)

Tanner and I met in the fall of 2016 at my workplace which at the time was Shawnee Animal Clinic. A little backstory: Tanner and I actually matched on Tinder but neither of us reached out to the other, AND a mutual friend tried to set up an opportunity for us to meet each other but I chickened out. So one evening when I was working the emergency service after-hours, a client buzzed at the door and when I opened it I found a very smiley Tanner greeting me. I recognized him from pictures I had seen online, but again we had not met in person at this point. He said he was there to pick up his cat Moxie from the hospital. I remember thinking "what an interesting cat" when I got her out of her cage, she was classified as a Selkirk-Rex which I had never heard of but she was very fluffy and she had the strangest meow/scream. I had no idea that this cat, in this moment was going to change the trajectory of my life. We were super busy that night at the clinic so I rushed to return Moxie to him, our interaction was brief but he was very kind and patient (..and I thought he was cute, OKAY?) Anyway, that was that and I continued on with my life as usual. At this point in the story it is important to note that I had worked exclusively as a veterinary assistant for about a year, I did not work in the front office at all (I had started out as a receptionist). However, one day, a couple weeks after first meeting Tanner, my boss asked if I would mind to cover the front office for *one hour* while they held a front office meeting. I agreed, no problem! So I answered the phones and helped some clients that came in, and at the very end of the hour I looked up from my computer screen and guess who was standing in front of me.. I'll give you a second.. okay got your guesses ready?! If you guessed Tanner then you were correct! Sorry I have no prizes to offer but there will be cake at our wedding :) Okay okay back to the story. So dearest Tanner was picking up food for Moxie. We chatted for a few minutes while I rang him up and I could tell we were both nervous, but I was trying to keep the conversation going because this guy was SO CUTE! And funny! And an animal lover!!! I'm handing him his receipt, he's going to be leaving any minute when I hear from behind me "Hi Tanner how are you?" It's my boss Tim, just arriving back from lunch. He and Tanner chat for a few minutes, then Tim says "Hey Sydney, weren't you looking for a new apartment? I think Tanner is renovating an old fire station apartment complex right now." As he elbows me in the back (ouch) and no, I wasn't looking for a new apartment but I excitedly said "Yes! I am." So Tanner reaches into his pocket and pulls out a business card, hands it to me and says feel free to call him about an apartment. Did I call him about an apartment? No. Did I call him? Also no.. I added him on Facebook like a normal 20 something trying to play it cool while also hoping to be asked out by the cute guy she met at the animal clinic. So we talked, he asked me out (on a REAL date, not just Netflix and chill! A true rarity when dating in your 20s) and we had the most magical first date that included Italian food and a selfie in front of the infamous Esplanade Christmas tree, and ended with a gorgeous view of the city lights and a sky full of stars, from the rooftop of that fire station apartment building. Tanner's favorite line when telling people how we met has always been "first she took care of my cat, now she takes care of me!" And that, my friends is the story of how we met. So if you're still waiting on your prince charming, just know that he will be there when the time is right and not a minute sooner, and sometimes that time is the one single hour that you were exactly where you were supposed to be. Almost 8 years later and we are finally tying the knot!

Rest in Peace Moxie Hatcher (2009 - 2023)

Travel

Holiday Inn Portsmouth Downtown, an IHG Hotel

Quality Inn

Airbnb has several nice options in Portsmouth as well! Airbnb.com