Still. Always. The Cooks.

Some love stories begin with a grand gesture. Ours began with a mutual friend and a moment neither of us saw coming. In 2017, Ariel and Terry were introduced through a friend, Jalyn Banks, and what started as a simple introduction quickly became something neither could ignore. They would spend hours on Facetime, began dating, and before long, they were showing up for each other in all the ways that matter most: side by side at two senior proms, cheering each other through graduations, and building something that felt bigger than high school. But life had other plans. In the summer of 2018, their paths diverged, Ariel headed to Alcorn State University in Mississippi, Terry enrolled at Nicholls University in Thibodaux, Louisiana, before later enlisting in the military. Two young people chasing their futures, miles apart. Distance, time, and life did what they do. But some connections don't fade, they wait. In 2021, Ariel and Terry found their way back to each other. What followed was a season of flights booked and miles driven - making their way between Fayetteville, North Carolina and Baton Rouge, Louisiana - proving that what they had was worth every trip. That same year, they made it official and said I do. In 2022, Ariel packed up her life and relocated to Fayetteville to begin their next chapter together. And in December of that year, their family of two became three with the arrival of their son, Terry J. Cook IV. Now, surrounded by the people who have loved and cheered them on, Ariel and Terry are ready to stand before you once more - not just as husband and wife, but as a testament to the kind of love that chooses each other, again and again.