There’s some cheesy quote out there about finding “the one” when you're not looking… I know you've heard it, and you've probably rolled your eyes at it just like I did. And then one day, when I wasn't looking, I met Matthew Leemann. Kenny B had mentioned the name (and sharpness of his jawline) a few times throughout the golf season. As we ended our sophomore year Matt and I happened to be at the end of the year cookout for the athletes. Kensley pointed out Matt and his golf buddies, and they were looking for one more person to start a corn hole game. I walked up to the group (really just to make Kenny B and Anna laugh) but as you know if I’m playing something I’m playing to win (and I did). Naturally, Matt was blown away by my cornhole skills and we ended up grabbing Chick-fil-a before we were out for the summer. One thing led to another, we kept talking, and we ended up going hiking for our first date (emphasis on the first). Sitting on top of a beautiful waterfall, Matt asked me to be his girlfriend and I was thinking that this man was CRAZY, he didn't even know me! When we rode home and I held his hand because I just rejected the poor guy and was fully expecting to not hear from him again. I told him we could keep getting to know each other and see where things went from there. We spent the summer adventuring and as we headed back to school he bravely asked me to be his girlfriend (again) and I said yes this time. Fast forward three years and we've been through alot (just ask him about the physics, and calculus, and grad school).But as we've faced the highs and lows and everything in between we have seen how God has been faithful to prepare us, grow us, and guide us as we enter the next chapter. We could not be more excited to take on the adventures ahead! THANK YOU FOR CELEBRATING WITH US!

I first met Tanner Kate during our sophomore year of college at a season-ending event for all the athletes at Piedmont. I was playing cornhole with the golf team and here comes this girl walking over and asks if she can join us for a game. I thought she was kinda cute and she seemed athletic, so I agreed to play against her. She won me over that day with her insane cornhole skills, but I never thought we would actually start talking more seriously after that. A couple of days went by and we hadn’t seen each other around campus until I got a Snapchat from Tanner and she said she “accidentally” sent it to me (it definitely wasn’t an accident). We talked every day from then on, and I asked her to breakfast at Chick-fil-A right before we left school (ask her about that story…). Over the summer we went on our first “actual” date together to go hiking in the North Georgia mountains. Keep in mind, I didn’t have much experience hanging out with just a girl, so I had no idea how the whole asking a girl to be your girlfriend thing went. We got to the top of this amazing waterfall at Blue Hole Falls and I felt the timing was right, so I asked Tanner to be my girlfriend. She looked at me like I had just asked her to jump off the waterfall… She politely said no and wanted to get to know each other better. I felt so foolish and definitely thought that was our first and last date together. To my surprise, we kept hanging out that summer and when we got back to school for our junior year, we started going to church together and started meeting more of her friends and church community. I asked her to be my girlfriend that August and she agreed this time… THANKFULLY! No one could have prepared us for the last 3.5 years together, all of the difficult seasons and life changes and now navigating a long-distance relationship while Tanner’s in school. Through all of it, it’s been amazing to see how God’s timing is perfect, and now I can’t imagine life without Tanner Kate. Here's to the many adventures to come!