June 23, 2017. Friday Cheers at Brown’s Island RVA Galactic with Future Prospect playing. I was at the event with a few friends and after the show was over and festivities winding down I see “that tall kid from the cinco de mayo party” across the lawn. We get to talking and agree to have a late night hang out down at the James River with a few friends 🌝🌙🌚💦 best night ever! Too much fun! Young and in love? A couple days later an inbox message from Michael: the gist of it…. “I loved hanging out at Friday Cheers. I need to tell you something. Can we meet for a date at Chioccas Sandwich Shop.” So I freak out, what could he need to tell me? Oh man. Naturally I show up to Chioccas over 30 minutes late. He thinks I’m a no show. But I get there, we order nachos to share, both way too nervous to eat hardly at all. So here’s what he needed to tell me: “meeting you was magical and I want to get to you know more…. One more thing. I’m in the process of getting divorced” 😳 We get out of there and go on a walk and talk about everything. I like him a lot, I think we can get through this…
Summer 2017 was spent getting to know each other, partying with our friends in The Fan RVA, at The Camel seeing bands, The Southern Belles, staying up way too late, and falling in love. I’ll never forget it, and will tell Michael this story again and again so he never forgets too. We realized not only were we having fun, but this is love. Michael told me he loved me for the first time that fall. I took an entire day to say it back, because I was so overwhelmed! The rest is basically history. An inseparable team growing towards forever.

We move in to Michael’s mom’s pool house after he sold his house in North Side. We end up living in the pool house for 2 years!! 2018 - 2020. In the pool house we lived through the loss of Michaels beloved Pa, struggles with our careers and life paths…. But had a lot of fun along the way. We took trips together, Michael gave his best shot at starting a hemp growing business, I went to online night school while working at the Omni to get my teaching certificate, setting up art projects in the garage, and we got to become close with Michaels mom Morag. Oh and Covid. Michaels landscape company Trillium Gardens went through hard times during Covid and he needed my help. I started working at Trillium as a landscape maintenance crew member. My brother Emerson even helped by working for Michael summer 2020.

In September 2020 we decided it was time to to find our home. With the help of Morag and our amazing realtor friend Karen, we bought our house on Pagebook Drive in Goochland VA. Since then we’ve spent our time transforming our house into a home, the lawn into a garden, and some wooden planks into a chicken coop, actually a chicken kingdom. We’ve worked hard to turn Trillium Gardens into a great company that we both believe in. Michael thought me everything I know about horticulture and plants and now I work on landscape designs and office work for Trillium. We work together everyday, the ups and downs are all worth it! We’ve taken amazing vacations that somehow all bleed into a few hazy memories, seen PHISH countless times with my brother and Michaels brother Kevin and D.Ann, we’ve celebrated with our families and over the years we’ve become one.
Our little family = My daily pod.
We adopted our Daisy dog in Feb of 2025 and she’s my baby girl. And we celebrated the marriage of Michaels brother Brian to his amazing wife Kelly.

I never really thought Michael and I would get married. But that was ok. We were already a forever couple.

Fast forward to Vieques PR vacation Dec 26th - Jan 2nd 2026.
12.29.25
After snorkeling at one of our favorite spots, Punta Arenas, we’re sitting on a nearly empty beach listing to the live Phish app of last nights MSG NYC show “Rift” is playing - Michael says he wants to go put his feet in the water. A minute or so later I join him. He turns to me and gets down on one knee. 🙌 Is this really happening? He pulls a box out of his swimsuit pocket and says “Taylor Underwood, will you marry me?” 💍 I cry and cry and finally say “YES”! The best surprise I could ever imagine. I love you Michael and will always love you.

Which brings us to now. I am so lucky to have the privilege of planning our wedding, and honored that you can join us there. Crazy times in our world right now. In November we get to stop for a moment and celebrate love and family and friends.

“Vibrating with love and light… In a world gone mad, in a world gone mad there must be something more than this” 🤲🤲 Phish

See you at the wedding my friend, my friend!