Hi, I’m Haleigh—and this is how Clay and I finally got our timing right. Clay and I have technically known each other since 7th grade. We went all the way through school together and graduated from Cass High School in 2019. We had a lot of the same friends, went to the same places, and somehow still were never really friends. Looking back, it feels like we were just circling each other for years, waiting on the right moment. Fast forward to April 2025—we reconnected on social media and started talking. We went back and forth for a few weeks, saying we were going to hang out… and then just never did (classic us). Eventually, we stopped talking again. But in August 2025, we gave it one more shot. We talked one day, hung out the very next—and that was it. No more missed timing. No more almosts. From that day on, we’ve pretty much been inseparable. We’ve only spent maybe five nights apart since, which honestly feels like a lot. By early October, Clay had basically moved in (no complaints here), and by December, we were engaged—because when you know, you know… and we definitely knew. Clay has since introduced me to some of my favorite things—like fly fishing and camping—and now you can usually find us anywhere near water, especially if there’s a quiet river involved. We even had plans to elope in our favorite place, Nantahala, somewhere that feels like ours. But then—plot twist. One night at a family dinner, Mimi asked me about our wedding plans, which I brushed off because truly I didn’t know fully. She suggested the date 9.26.26 randomly. Surprisingly it was a Saturday once we checked the calendar, and she asked me why don’t we just get married on their property. So here we are. After years of almosts, missed chances, and terrible timing, we finally found each other exactly when we were supposed to—and now we get forever.