We’re getting married!

I was living in Jackson, Tennessee and casually keeping an eye on the dating scene when Drew caught my attention. At the time, he was visiting a friend in Mississippi, and when we matched, we instantly hit it off. That weekend quickly passed, and before I knew it, he was back home in Oregon. I remember thinking, I don’t want long distance - what am I doing? There’s no way this could work. A few months later, curiosity (and courage) got the best of me, and I decided I needed to find out if this man was truly worth my time. Despite my parents’ concerns, I booked a flight to Oregon, and it didn’t take long to realize Drew was checking all the boxes. After that weekend, I returned to Tennessee, and we officially began our long-distance journey, still unsure of where it might lead. Fast forward a year and a half, and we found ourselves talking seriously about Drew’s coaching career, where it might take him, and whether I’d be joining him along the way. As our relationship continued to grow, I knew without a doubt that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, which is how our journey led us to North Dakota of all places.

I was sitting at the airport waiting to board a flight to Memphis, Tennessee to visit one of my best friends when I decided to download Hinge. All my life, I’d joked that I wanted to marry a Southern belle. There’s just something about the hospitality and that accent that always got me. That trip turned out to be life-changing. I matched with a beautiful girl named Britney, and from that moment on, we talked nonstop. We FaceTimed throughout the entire trip, including a three-hour layover in Minneapolis on my way home. What started as a simple match quickly became daily FaceTimes, long conversations, and a growing connection that lasted for over a month and a half. Eventually, Britney took a leap of faith and flew out to Oregon to meet a guy she had never met in person. That first hug was the best hug I’ve ever had. Later that same day, I asked her to be my girlfriend, and she said yes. The rest truly is history. We made long-distance work for a year and a half, crossed countless miles, and somehow I convinced her to move to North Dakota with me. It’s here that she became my fiancé, and now, my soon-to-be wife.