It was 2016 and parents weekend at ECU for the first home football game of the year. Sophie and I took our parents to a tailgate at Sig Ep’s fraternity house. My dad and I were standing on the front porch when my dad pointed to a guy he has never met before and said, "Hey Sydney, you are going to end up with him." Sure enough it was Grant and we started dating about a year later.

Throughout our 4 years of dating, we have gone through 3 different stages of long distance. Grant made dinner reservations at the Angus Barn on July 24th 2020 as our 'last date' before we would begin another long distance journey from Kentucky and North Carolina. Little did I know it was going to be the best day of my life! The owner came up to us at dinner and told us we should go check out the Pavilion where my cousin was getting married in a couple of months. As we walked down there after dinner, Grant grabbed my hand to lead me into the lit up Pavilion with rose pedals on the ground. Once he dropped to one knee and I said yes, he had both of our families and best friends there to continue the surprise, I was on cloud 9 all weekend long! We are so excited and counting down the days until we get to marry each other at Duke Chapel!