The year was 2017. The month was January. The date was . . . um, ask Audrey; Isaiah doesn't remember. A styled photo shoot was taking place at United Apparel Liquidators in Nashville, TN. Isaiah had previously done modeling for UAL on several occasions, but on that fateful day the powers that be decided to make it a styled "couple's" shoot. And that's the day Audrey and Isaiah met. (Actually, Audrey remembers having been introduced to Isaiah on a previous modeling shoot he did at the store; Isaiah feels that if that were the case, he would have remembered meeting such a beautiful human. Anyways, they have agreed to disagree and go with the romantic story that they met on a photo shoot.) While on the shoot, Isaiah recalls trying to act smooth and not come across as too interested. Audrey recalls seeing right through his faux attempts at coolness and predicting to herself that he would ask her out. She was right.

On their first coffee meet up (NOT a date), Isaiah arrived early and purchased his own coffee. When Audrey arrived, he invited her to grab her drink and then join him. You see, in the past, Isaiah had had one too many experiences of girls who somehow took a simple gesture of kindness as an iron-clad offer of lifelong commitment. Audrey, meanwhile, was understandably confused (along with all her UAL co-workers who were keeping up with a blow-by-blow account via text as this "definitely NOT a date" went down). Despite the slow start (and a few more confusing coffee meet-ups) -- Isaiah still apologizes for not being more direct; although she likes giving him grief about it, Audrey says it was actually a good thing in the long run as she wasn't looking for a relationship at the time . . . so, it all worked out, right?! -- our lovely couple finally managed to maneuver themselves into a dating relationship. They came to find out that in their past lives, Audrey was a police officer, and Isaiah served in the Marines. These common threads allowed them to understand and come to love the unique hearts that beat under their artist exteriors.

Another photo shoot of note was a styled elopement shoot. The "bride and groom" got so many lovely shouts of "congratulations!" from passersby that they finally quit correcting people. They even went so far as to text their respective families pictures from the "elopement." These jokes were not well received. This story serves as a word of caution for those who might be thinking of doing similarly; be warned: you may be on the receiving end of blistering "how could you" texts and calls from crying relatives. Audrey and Isaiah would like to be clear that this impending wedding is, in fact, the real deal.