Welcome, family and friends!

It was August 2020, and I opened my phone to a picture from Jess: a mirror selfie before another first date. She really didn’t want to go. It was your typical NYC summer day, blazing hot and humid enough to get all the wrinkles out of your clothes. But hey, a date meant social interaction and a free dinner, both of which were hard to come by after COVID shut the world down. She took a deep breath, strategized an escape plan with her roommates in case the date was horrible, and went on her merry way. The next text I got a few dates later? “I think I met my future husband.” I know it sounds cliché, but I promise it’s the truth. By the next date, both Jess and Tyler had deleted their Hinges, and a couple months after that they were ~official~. I was curious about this new guy…Jess has great taste, but the Cohen sisters can be tough critics. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait too long to meet him. Enter: The Iron Bowl. The Iron Bowl is the legendary ‘Bama – Auburn rivalry game that happens every Thanksgiving weekend. That November we decided to do Thanksgiving in Tuscaloosa so I could be there for my last Iron Bowl at home, and Jess brought Tyler. All I knew was that both his brothers are proud graduates of Auburn, so I was skeptical. I was ready to bombard Tyler with questions, but as soon as him and Jess walked in, the only thing I noticed was how happy Jess looked. While my mom, Jess, and Ally went to run some errands, Tyler and I went to Publix to get dinner. I thought this was going to be awkward; I mean I barely knew the guy. But he chatted me up the whole time AND he picked up flowers for Jess. The whole weekend, he laughed with us, played games with us, watched movies with us, and (most importantly) drank with us. It takes a certain person to deal with all the shenanigans that ensues when all three sisters are together. Not only did he deal with it, but he immersed himself in it. At that point, I knew he was a good one. The first time I visited them in New York, I was initiated into ‘friday shots’ (iykyk) and got to observe their relationship on their home turf. I was blown away with the love and happiness that permeated through the walls of their apartment. The last time I visited them in New York was their engagement, which I think is the only time anybody has been able to pull a surprise on Jess. Tyler was the logistics king and included us in the whole process. After their ~very romantic~ proposal with a view of the Empire State Building, he took her to the rooftop we had all been waiting at and I will never forget the look on her face as she turned the corner and saw us for the first time as a fiancé. Finally, they packed up their lives and moved to Dallas - Selfishly, I was excited because now they were only a short 3- hour drive away. Jess and Tyler’s relationship has been full of exciting moments: Cross-country road trips to Kentucky, Alabama, and Texas; beautiful east coast vacations; Mexico and Key West birthday trips; adventurous getaways to Switzerland and London; just to name a few. They also made me a proud two-time auntie of the cutest little fur babies! That being said, they also know how to make the most mundane, everyday moments at home special, which is arguably one of the most important skills to have. Jess and Tyler inspire me in many ways, but I think that is a big one. Tyler has set the bar incredibly high for mine and Ally’s future husbands. Anybody who has been in the same room as both of them knows what I’m talking about when I say that those two represent everything you could want in a healthy, loving, happy relationship. I know I speak for many when I say I cannot wait to witness their marriage on November 11. Let the countdown begin!