In October of 2023, I was invited to the wedding of two friends in Austin, Texas -- that I almost did not attend. Well, thank the Lord I did, because if I hadn’t I would not have had the chance to notice, meet, flirt with, and get hung up on one Mr. Daniel Thomas. I don’t really know what made me notice him at this particular wedding as we had attended mutual weddings before, but on this occasion I noticed, and what luck! He noticed me, too! As we all made our way to the dance floor to celebrate love, Daniel approached me and started talking to me like we were old friends. “How are you?” “Let’s catch up!” “I haven’t seen you in a while.” “How is Nashville?” to which I answered, “What? I can’t hear you! We should go outside if you want to talk!” So out we went, and after establishing that we didn’t really know each other at all, Daniel asked me for a “10 minute crash course on my life.” Well, 45 minutes, 2 crash courses, belly laughs, and some serious flirting later, we had missed the rest of the dancing, the coffee cart, the send-off of the bride and groom, and half our friends leaving the wedding. Daniel also missed the moment to ask for my number, which he says was “part of the plan!” As my girlfriends and I left the wedding, I asked them all the questions about this tall, dark, and handsome man. They told me he was wonderful, a man of God and his word, a genuine friend with a servant heart. They said he was an extrovert that loved to talk, but also was an exceptional listener. They said he was a MAN, not a boy. Sign me up, y’all! During our crash course I learned that Daniel’s 30th birthday was coming up, so I concocted a plan -- if he hadn’t asked for my number in a week I was going to message him, wish him a happy birthday, and cross my fingers! Thankfully, Daniel and I have some amazing friends! They know us both well, knocked some sense into him for not getting my number, and ultimately he contacted me first. Three 3-4 hour FaceTimes later, I was asking Daniel to take a spontaneous trip to Nashville for an in-person date weekend. After that, I think we were both as smitten as we could be! The rest is a history composed of flights and FaceTimes and phone calls and prayer. Lots of prayer! We are so grateful to our community, friends, and family for supporting us and praying for us from literally day one. We wouldn’t be here without you!

Historically, Grace has always maintained that a wedding in October of 2023 is where we first met. But in reality, we’d met once briefly a few months earlier at a wedding in July. Well, at the October wedding, I knew I’d kick myself if I didn’t try to spend more time getting to know this beautiful and energetic Tennesseean with the most gorgeous smile. My timing was not the best…I tried having a full fledged get to know you conversation with her on the dance floor! Thankfully, Grace was far more aware of the moment and took us off the dance floor so we could give each other crash courses about each other. My second miss of the night was not immediately getting her number but thankfully we have some amazing people in our corners who gave me some good advice and I soon got her number. A few long FaceTime dates later, I found myself in Nashville taking Grace on an in person date and I instantly knew that she wasn’t just different, she was my person. Fast forward through several marathon date weekends in Nashville, Dallas, Phoenix, and New York and I wasn’t just in love, I knew our relationship was divinely ordained and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Grace. The Lord has been so kind to us in giving us such complimentary personalities in that we have fun, challenge each other, and learn and grow together. Our communities and families have been there every step of the way, championing us so well and praying for us from the beginning, which has been just one of the amazing blessings that has been part of our story. We’re so excited to celebrate the start of a new season with everyone and can’t wait to embrace the adventures ahead with Jesus as the foundation of our lives.