Fred and I met in 2016 during my first season in the Cobb Wind Symphony. I play clarinet and he plays saxophone, so we sat pretty far away from each other in our 110-member ensemble. Fred and I hadn't talked a lot, but from his first impression, I could tell that he was a really great person. It wasn't until our annual music education conference in Athens, GA when I really started to get to know Fred; he was a familiar face in a crowd that I felt very comfortable with. After spending that weekend being nearly inseparable, I was thrilled when he asked me out on a date to Venkman's in Old Fourth Ward. We danced the night away and, as they say, the rest is history!

I first saw Darby across the ensemble at Cobb Wind Symphony. As we started to talk here and there, I was struck with how smart, beautiful, and amazing she is. We really began to connect at our annual music education conference in Athens. She was hosting a session and I stuck around to help her set up the next group, which was, of course, my way to talk to her. By the end of the conference, I was ready to ask her out. I confusingly asked, "Are you sure you don't want to go out sometime?", and she wittingly replied, "I'll go out sometime!" We talked on the phone all the way back to Atlanta and had our first date at Venkman's. With a shared love for music and travel, we soon found ourselves bound for Boston to see one of our favorite groups, Rachael & Vilray. During their song, "Do Friends Fall In Love", I got on one knee and proposed to the love of my life. I did a much better job phrasing the question, and she said "yes!".