He Says, She Says

Since the day that I met Britain, we have had two different versions of how that encounter happened. There is her version and then there is the right version…mine. We actually met twice for the first time. So let’s take a trip back to November 8th, 2014 when Alabama was playing LSU. I was out with my roommates, Jere and Cliff, at the local watering hole. It was going to be your stereotypical guys night, have a few adult beverages, watch some good ole fashioned SEC football and see where the night took us. However, this was not what was in store for me. The game was at a stalemate for the first 4 quarters and eventually headed into overtime. Alabama ended up beating LSU (per usual) with a Blake Simms TD pass. The bar went nuts with people screaming and jumping around (probably a few chest bumps sprinkled in)…when I turned around to get a generic high-five from the boys, there was Britain. For some reason we both turned around and looked at each other and didn’t say a word…next thing I know we are both jumping up and down hugging each other like a couple of sophomore girls who just got asked to prom by a couple seniors. As soon as the celebration was over she slipped through the cracks. Just like bad Instagram picture, she was gone, never to be seen again. (This is the part of the story where I wish I could say it was love at first sight for her…but obviously it wasn’t)

I missed a perfect opportunity to say the least. I let a woman finer than a frog hair split 8 ways slip away. The worst part about it was there was nothing that I could do at that point. After running through scenarios in my head of how I could have played this happenstance better, I chalked an L up in the loss column and went home. I spent the rest of the night and the following days thinking about her. She, as the kids are saying these days, had me shooked . There was just something about her that I knew was special. The problem was, I was not a good investigator of social media. I couldn’t search her on Facebook (cause I don’t have one), Instagram (because I was still new to the game) or twitter in order to possibly, hopefully spark her interest enough to go on a date with me. If I would have known beforehand that she was a successful wedding planner, I could have probably searched in the Yellow Pages for her number (Yellow Pages…are those still around?). Unfortunately I had no such luck, but just like Phil Mickelson at the 2013 British Open, a comeback was made. Fast forward a few months to Jacob’s (groomsman) birthday.

I received a phone call from him inviting me to join him and his girlfriend, now wife Savannah, at the Painted Pin. I agreed to get my Ernie McCraken on when he told me that Savannah was bringing a friend. Little did I know that my life was about to change that day. When I walked in I was instantly hooked on Britain. I said my hellos but the rest of the small talk was fuzzy. It was hard for me to keep from staring at her. Now at this point, yall are thinking this is great! You were finally able to meet her again and you can shoot your shot. As Lee Corso would say, “not so fast my friends”. Mind you, a good chunk of time had passed by this point (6 months) and I felt like I knew her from somewhere but I couldn’t remember from where. So, I was trying to rack my brain for some clues but came up short, just like my golf game. I believe at one point during bowling she pulled Savannah into the bathroom and told her that she met me before and that she wanted to leave ha. I had no clue that I already started with a 0-1 count. She decided to stay (must have been my bowling skills) and I am so thankful for that. Otherwise, we might not be where we are today. We all ended up hanging out the rest of the night and I was trying to not screw this second opportunity up. From that night on we have been able to build our relationship to where it is today. I don’t know her stance on when she knew I was right for her but for me it was when she met my family. I always had this deep feeling that she was the one but when she met my family, especially my brother Chris, there was no turning back. She cares for my brother as if he was her own and that is something near and dear to my heart. From that moment I knew that I loved her and that I had someone special. She is the most caring, loving, driven and wonderful person I have ever met. There is never a dull moment with Britain and she always has a smile on her face. She truly brings joy to my day and I cannot wait until September 8th.

If you are still here, you're the real MVP! Now for the real story... In November 2014, Fletcher and I bumped into each other in Buckhead watching the LSU game and when Alabama won in the third overtime, we hugged, like all Bama fans did, and went our seperate ways. I didn't even know his name! Fast forward to April of 2015 and Savannah & Jacob are in Atlanta celebrating Jacobs birthday! Friday night he said his friend Fletcher was meeting us out for a little while, he walked in wearing a Braves jersey and I knew I recognized him from somewhere but wasn't sure where. We didn't really talk much that night and life went on! The next night we all went bowling at Painted Pin and I started to wonder if this guy only owned Braves jerseys or any actual clothing, but we all had fun! A few weeks later, Savannah & Jacob were back in town and we all went to Dogwood Festival at Piedmont Park and hung out all weekend. He was so fun to be around and it was clear he was falling in love with me. HAHA JUST KIDDING! But we were having fun together! A couple weeks later he asked me to go to a Braves game with him and we did... He picked me up, opened the car door, was being such a gentleman! We both started receiving texts from friends saying they saw us on TV while they were watching the game and I'm pretty sure most of those friends didn't even know we were going out because they were asking each of us, who the other person was. Anyway, that was 3 years ago on April 28th and we have been having fun every since! We can't wait to celebrate with you all on September 8th :)