Well, it all started with an invite from my God-Brother Kenny. He knew I had moved back into Richmond a month and some change ago. He also knew that I wasn’t really going out a lot and I would always tell him to let me know if he’s doing anything, even though he might be one of the last people to say that to because he’s basically me (doing nothing doesn’t bother him to an extent). This one day, however, he randomly hits me saying he’s going to a pool with some friends. The day was June 6, 2021 for future reference. So I was pretty much dressed to do nothing and said “why not”, and actually got off the couch. Who knew that this day would change my life (kind of extreme, but look where we are now. You’re reading this as a wedding story lol). So I get there and say hi to everybody. I knew of some people who knew me as "Kenny’s cousin who doesn’t come to anything". As I was saying hi to everyone, this one lady gets out of the pool to leave. At least, that’s what I thought until I found out she was the one with the soccer mom cooler and it was still there. So I played it cool and asked Kenny “who is that?”. He offered to put a word in for me so I was chilling of course. Next thing you know we flirting a little bit when she came back, played a little volleyball in the water (she was on my team, but I was carrying us to victory). After the pool, we all sat to the side, where we played music, games, and had genuine discussions, like tv shows. I was trying to find a way to ask for her number, and somehow we started talking about the show The Chi. She said she never saw the show, so with that I asked if she would like to binge the show, and of course I couldn’t discuss the show without her number! (I already watched the show but I had to shoot my shot). The rest, I guess you can say, is history. Shout out to Kenny and Britt!

Won’t lie, I was praying and hoping it would be coming soon… but I didn’t know exactly when or how it would happen. Our families had already met, and we’d been wanting to spend a holiday together for a while. So when we made plans to do Thanksgiving as one big blended crew, I truly thought it was just going to be turkey, family, and food comas. I barely slept the night before and found myself wide awake at 2:19 a.m., creating a Zola account and even browsing wedding venues. (Yes, I have the screenshot to prove it. Call it divine timing or just a little bridal premonition.) Fast forward to later that day: we’re dressed, pots, pans and mac & cheese ready to go, and about to take family photos before dinner. I’m adjusting the camera to get the perfect shot, and meanwhile… he's quietly dropping to one knee behind me. Not to mention Ryan was down there for a good 45 seconds on a freshly PT’d knee before I even noticed. Love and patience, y’all. I turned around, saw him, and immediately burst into tears. Of course, I said YES, through happy sobs, laughter, and a hug I'll never forget. Partly because of the "welcome to death row" he whispered in my ear which confirmed this is a forever thing but also because it was one of those "promise kept" moments where God said, "see I told you..."