In the winter of 2017, Will and Harmony crossed paths in the halls of George Mason high school. Harmony interrupted her conversation with Mr. McAdam to high five and compliment Will on their matching Virginia Tech hoodies.


Why the junior girl had such bold audacity to speak to the “too-cool-for-school” senior, we will never know. But we're sure glad she did. A few months later, the couple found themselves sitting in the basement of the Mary Riley Styles Library “studying together” on a Snow Day. They got to know each other by looking through (not so old) George Mason Yearbooks which hold the Yates family legacy and exchanging stories of duck hunting and dancing. When the Librarian announced that the library was closing, the often-reserved Will was shocked to realize that the strange girl in front of him had somehow managed to get him to talk for over four hours straight. 


Soon, they were official and spent a blissful first spring and summer as “boyfriend and girlfriend” venturing to prom, lacrosse games, concerts, Youth group trips, graduation, and more. They spent sunny days horseback-riding at Tucker Run farm with Ghee and Poppy and others swimming and fishing at the Lake. Harmony also experienced her first ever Gaskins Team Lake Party where she met the Gaskins clan and was interrogated by Uncle Rob.


The day Harmony says she knew that she loved William was the day they worked a wedding together at Tucker Run farm. She saw the way Will treated his little cousins with kindness and grace and she knew that day that his gentle, selfless heart was one she wanted to be near forever. 


Will realized his love for Harmony that same summer while hiking Old Rag; her spunk and enthusiasm made even the worst hike enjoyable. 


The couple clung to their high school love even as Will ventured across the world to Kenya and Peru for his gap year while Harmony finished her senior year of high school. The weeks between travel were sweet - filled with time at the Gaskins beach house in OBX and game nights with family in Falls Church. 


Before they knew it they were off to college – Will at Virginia Tech and Harmony at the University of Virginia. While long-distance was a challenge, the pandemic blessed them with unexpected time together at home and at the beach.


In 2021, Will and Harmony enjoyed a summer of fun working as counselors at Summer’s Best Two Weeks. They kept things interesting by leaving one another notes on their love lines and making googly eyes across the dining hall. 


Then the angst of finding themselves and growing old caught up with them, leading them to take some time apart. Harmony studied abroad in France while Will grew roots deep at Virginia Tech and helped found BYX. 


Despite their distance, they couldn’t quite stay away so Will flew to Aix-en-Provence to profess his love to Harmony. It worked (eventually). In the Spring of their senior year of college, the couple knew they didn’t want to do this life with anyone else. 


They spent the months after college traveling the world; volunteering in Kenya, studying at Swiss L’Abri, visiting friends in the Netherlands, and exploring France. They ended their adventure with a bang! After hours of Harmony dragging Will around the Musée D’Orsay in Paris, Will got down on one knee to ask his high school sweetheart to marry him. She said yes and was shocked to find a parade of loved ones jump out of the bushes to surprise her. 


After 6 years of growing up and into love, we are so excited to step into this next chapter of our lives as a married couple! We are grateful to the Lord’s faithfulness and provision in leading us to this special day that we simply cannot wait to get to celebrate with you.