Everyone assumes Hunter and I met through State Farm — we're both agents in the Nashville area, so it's a fair guess. The real story: Bumble, September 2023. Since women have to send the first message, I led with what I still consider a top-tier opening line: "State Farm husband?" (I'd spotted his agent logo in the background of one of his photos.) Hunter loves telling this story more than I do.
Hunter picked Top Golf for our first date — his favorite hobby, and definitely a strategic choice on his part. Worked like a charm.
Weekends usually mean the outdoors with our three dogs, cheering on the Ole Miss Rebels, or tackling a DIY project that always takes longer than planned. Mississippi means a lot to both of us — Hunter's from Horn Lake, my parents + most of my extended family calls MS home, and I did both undergrad and my MBA at Ole Miss. Choosing Oxford for our wedding felt like coming full circle.
There wasn't one big moment — it built over our first six months together, and it clicked into place when he met my entire family in Dallas and still earned my parents' approval, even after wrecking their car in the process.
July 2, 2026, in my hometown of Shreveport. Hunter had secretly been planning with my mom since April. The excuse to get me out of the house: a grocery run for ice to make homemade ice cream. While we were gone, my family turned my parents' backyard into something out of a movie — candlelight and rose petals around the pool. My sister even drove in early from Dallas and hid so I wouldn't suspect a thing. When we got home, the silence should have given it away. I wandered through the house looking for everyone, then spotted the backyard glowing through the living room windows. Hunter took my hand, led me outside, and said, "Lauren, I've always told you it would happen one day — and today is that day. Will you marry me?!" Hunter never gets nervous. He was nervous — nervous enough that he forgot to actually put the ring on my finger until my family came pouring out of the garage to celebrate with us!