How the Bride Remembers it. . . I met Drake in 8th grade at the lunch tables. I caught him looking at me, gave him somewhat of a concerned look to which he spoke the the first words he would ever say to me. "I'm sorry, you just have really beautiful eyes". Embarrassed I gave him a quick "thank you", and didn't think anything of it. Truthfully, I didn't notice him till our freshman year of high school. The first day of school, Drake sat down at lunch next to me to see our mutual friend (shout out Austin). His tan cargo shorts ( which still live on today), brand name "Active" shirt and red backpack are seared into my mind. For me, I developed a crush so sizable, I can only describe it as love at first sight, although this was technically are second lunch together. For two weeks I looked forward to lunch period, even though we never exchanged more than 3 words. Things began to accelerate one Monday morning, when Drake transferred into my P.E. class. . . during the swim unit. Although mortified to be in a bathing suit in front of him, I was happy to have any extra hour together each day. The timeline gets a bit blurry at this point of the story, but to my surprise not long after Drake joined my class, I received a phone call. Drake had asked Austin for my number, and that phone call turned into 8 months of late night phone calls, talking about everything and nothing. Although I was falling more and more in love, Drake also became my very best friend during this time. Towards the end of our 9th grade year Drake FINALLY asked me to be his girlfriend, The rest is well. . . high school. 13 years later here we are! How the Groom Remembers it. . . When I first met Ashley I was a foolish boy. I don’t remember much but, I do remember sitting down next to Austin at the lunch tables in 8th grade; across from me, I stared into eyes that made me feel lost at sea, light blue with a hint of grey. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but about a year later, those same eyes kept meeting mine at lunch. I was still a foolish boy, but I had to get to know this girl. I asked Austin for Ashley’s number, and worked up the nerve to give her a call, what was originally a few casual conversations turned into hours and hours of us talking every night after school, to the point where she was hiding in the closet till 2AM. It wasn't long before I realized I had met my best-friend, somebody that I could talk to without fear of judgment, somebody that I could talk to about all the useless things that surrounded my head. It was a few days before my birthday when I discovered that the girl I had initially put in the "friend-zone" may actually be more than just a friend. Still being a foolish high-school boy, it took me awhile longer before I could admit my feelings to her. However each day my feelings for Ashley grew, I looked forward to our P.E class, and every lunch period. Even the 3 minutes I could talk to her during passing periods were cherished. Finally after a very long and drawn out couple of months I asked her to be my girlfriend. 13 years later, I asked her to be my wife.