Olivia and I met the same way as many Southern Christians… at a bar in Washington, DC. ( Or if she's telling the story- through our friend Cambridge... at a bar.) Although nearly a year passed from that night to our first date, I knew within hours of meeting Olivia that I could see myself marrying her. Our first date was in July 2018 when I invited her to my sister’s wedding. No pressure! Olivia was thrown directly into the fire by meeting the vast majority of my family at the same time. The way she handled the anxiety-inducing bombardment of family members with grace and ease instantly caused me to begin falling for her. Olivia continued to endure my antics throughout the next several months, such as when I waited to say “I love you” until we were at an Ole Miss football game. That way, she would always have to admit that the first time I said those three words to her… we were inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Despite the long distance between us, we continued to grow closer. Within six months of our first date, I knew I was going to marry her.

In January 2019, I began writing Olivia a letter that I would give her on the day of my proposal almost exactly one year later. The letter consisted of journal entries from significant events from throughout the year that related to our engagement. As time went by she & I began to openly discuss marriage. At one point she told me that she wasn’t interested in expensive rings or a fancy proposal. She joked that if I proposed to her with a string to tie around her finger, she would say “Yes!” as quickly as she would with any ring. I kept that in mind. Shortly after celebrating the new year together, Olivia dropped me off at the Nashville airport on January 2, 2020 so I could fly back to DC. Little did she know that my mom & sister picked me up from the same airport 45 minutes later. Our families spent the next day preparing for the big surprise. With the help of Olivia’s roommate, we decorated her living room with rose pedals & candles. I finished the year-long letter & laid it on the dining room table with a bottle of champagne that Olivia had been "saving for a special occasion.” That evening she called me after work as she always does. I told her about my day at work that never happened as she unexpectedly drove toward me. I spoke to her until the moment she parked outside her front door. I barely had time to place my phone in my pocket before she walked in to her house where I was waiting. She had joked for months that I could never get anything past her because I’m too predictable. She won’t be saying that for a while. I smiled as she slowly walked forward with pure shock on her face. As I told her how much she meant to me, I reached into my jacket pocket. She smiled expectantly as I pulled out… a string. We laughed as I reached back into my pocket, pulled out her ring, and shakily dropped to one knee. Looking back, it is unbelievable to think about how unlikely it was that we would meet that night. God works in mysterious ways. Especially at bars in DC.