The story of how Jim and I met is honestly my favorite story to tell. I graduated from Clemson in 2015 and decided I needed to see a different part of the country for a bit. I moved to Lexington, KY for graduate school and lived there for a couple of years. During this time, Jim was in Charleston, SC for dental school. We both graduated from our programs in the spring of 2018 and decided to relocate back to the upstate for job opportunities. In October of that same year, we both downloaded Bumble and swiped right on each other. After chatting for a week or so, we decided to meet up at SIP in downtown Greenville for a date. That was truly the best first date I had ever been on, and we both knew we wanted to keep seeing each other. Shortly after that first date, we discovered that not only did we both attend Clemson, but we also went to high school together. In fact, we grew up in the same neighborhood. I went to many of his football games- and I have footage of Jim cheering us on in the background at my volleyball games! Jim and I were literally right in front of each other for a good amount of our lives- it just took 25 years for us to meet. It’s surely made me a believer in destiny.

Jim and I knew very early on in our relationship that we wanted to get married. I had only two requests for a proposal- 1. to not propose to me in front of a crowd and 2. to make sure my nails were done. So, let’s fast forward to May of 2021. We were celebrating my 28th birthday at my favorite restaurant, Jianna. Jim casually mentioned that I should think about getting my nails done soon. I immediately knew something was up and started to badger him for details. Jim assured me that I was never going to see the proposal coming! So let’s fast forward again to June. Jim and I were in the Isle of Palms on vacation with his family. I told Jim back in March that I wanted to get up early to watch the sunrise- something Jim was quick to agree to! So the first morning at the beach, Jim woke me up bright and early at 5:45 AM and told me we were going out to the beach. After getting there, we took some time to walk around and enjoy each other’s company. As the sun was rising, Jim hugged me from behind and said “I love you.” So of course, I replied “I love you too.” He replied “well…” and turned me around. He then got on one knee and said “Elizabeth Marie, will you marry me?” All I could do was cry and enthusiastically say “yes!” After taking some time to enjoy the moment, we decided to head back to the house. We were able to share the news with his family that morning, and then with my parents who made the trip down that afternoon! 10/10 proposal and perfect in every way.