Our junior year of college at the University of South Carolina, Tanner and I were setup on his fraternity's mountain weekend by a mutual friend. Tanner just so happened to be looking for a date and lucky for him, I had many friends that would be on this trip so I said yes to going with him with zero hesitation. What seemed like such an insignificant decision then turned out to be one of the best decisions I've made. After a very long drive to the Tennessee mountains and a weekend crammed in a house with 30 other people, we knew we wanted to get to know each other more. Our first official date was to the South Carolina State Fair. It didn't take me long to realize that Tanner was someone I couldn't live without. We started dating fairly quickly after and the rest is history! Fast forward to May of 2019, we graduated from USC, Tanner moved to Charleston to begin dental school, and so began a year of long distance. We spent many hours driving up and down interstate 26 to see each other, but quickly found out that the distance would be short lived when I was accepted to a Masters program in Charleston! Shortly after, the world locked down and we, like many others, decided there was no better time to get a dog. Cola (named after the place we met) is the best, most spontaneous decision we have ever made and we are completely obsessed with her! For the next two years we soaked in both living in Charleston. We met a lot of amazing people, made some of our favorite memories, and spent a lot of time together. In May of 2022, I graduated from MUSC and moved to Raleigh, NC for a job while Tanner stayed in Charleston for his fourth and final year of dental school. We visited each other as often as we could, swapping who had Cola each time, and counted down the days until we would be living in the same city again. We were so excited when we found out that Tanner was accepted to a residency program at East Carolina University and we would be closer to each other! With everything falling into place and Tanner's dental school graduation quickly approaching, Tanner knew there was no better time to propose. Two weeks before his graduation, Tanner planned a weekend getaway to one of our favorite places, Fripp Island. Tanner grew up visiting Fripp with his family and when we started dating it became one of our favorite places to go together. Anyone that knows Tanner knows he is not a planner and anyone that knows me knows I likely have the rest of the year planned out. So when he told me he planned this weekend I couldn't help but be suspicious but went along with it. The morning of May 6th Tanner proposed to me (with Cola of course) on the beach. He arranged for a photographer to capture the moment and even pictures after. He quickly confessed that we wouldn't be staying in Fripp another night. Instead, we were heading back to Charleston to go to our favorite wine and cheese bar and out to dinner. Little did I know the surprises were just starting! When we got to the wine and cheese bar, I was surprised by our families who had all come to town to celebrate us. After a few hours, we all walked back to Tanner's house where many of our closest friends were waiting for the third and final surprise. We spent the day surrounded by so many of our favorite people. Tanner truly outdid himself and made it the most special day! This brings us to now! We now live in Wilson, NC, the halfway point between my job and Tanner's residency, and are excited to be moving back to Raleigh just a few months before our wedding. We have been spending a lot of time just the three of us, something I know we will be forever grateful for! We have been together for 6 years now and have shared so much along the way. I couldn't imagine doing life with anyone else. Tanner is the best person I know and I cannot wait to marry my best friend!