We eloped!

One day during this never ending year that is 2020, Geoffrey and I were on one of our frequent lunchtime walks when he looked at me and said, "I need a vacation.” I of course enthusiastically agreed and we planned a beach vacation for the end of October all within our usual 2 mile walking route. At the same time, we sat with the knowledge that COVID would not be graciously exiting our lives anytime soon and we therefore did not feel it socially responsible to hold a gathering of friends and family. The more we came to terms with this the more we considered alternative ways to celebrate our love. And so with that, I called up South Carolina and requested a marriage certificate by mail and we drove up to Hilton Head Island in the middle of Hurricane Zeta. We exchanged a few kind words about each other, said our vows, and exchanged rings on a windy day in the sand and the ocean, surrounded by a few friends. Later that night, we ate some pizza and played a few games and while it was not the night we had envisioned when we started planning a wedding almost a year ago, it was absolutely perfect for us. This year has pushed us to think differently about what is important and meaningful to us and our elopement is just another example of that. We truly feel thankful.

Trying to surprise Caroline with an engagement was tricky. We both knew that we wanted to get engaged and that we had the ring from her grandmother (thank you Aunt Cheri!). So the only thing I could surprise Caroline with was the timing of the actual day and how and where I asked. I kept telling her it would be at the end of the year while secretly I planned to propose as soon as Caroline picked up the ring at the end of September 2019. I coordinated with some of our friends and we planned a boys/girls night (which should have been a tell because we’ve never done that) where the guys would go off and the girls would go off and we would all meet up in EAV later in the night. Little did Caroline know she would actually be driven to a little community garden in Kirkwood that we used to walk past on Sundays when I lived at Watson. All the guys hid in the trees and I waited for Caroline to arrive. When she did, I went up to the car and asked a very surprised Caroline to walk with me into the garden. She was caught off guard, and I didn’t give her a chance to really take a breath and figure out what was going on. In my defense I was incredibly nervous that I was going to somehow mess up. I walked her into the garden, got down on one knee, and asked her that oh so important question. She thankfully said yes and our friends came out of there hiding spots. We all celebrated with champagne and a night out.

Sometime in May of 2017, I decided to check out the new house my friends Joey and Raymond were moving into with Joey's mysterious friend from high school. That friend, who hadn't quite moved in yet, also decided hang out at Watson Circle. That friend was Geoffrey. Over the next few weeks, I did everything possible to avoid Geoffrey. I had friends and didn't need new ones. Despite my efforts, a group of friends naturally began to form. We all texted, had movie nights, made dinner, went apple picking, and of course had many nights out exploring Atlanta. One very late night on the porch at Watson with Emma and Geoffrey, we bought tickets to a Modern Baseball concert. Geoffrey still tells me this wasn't a date- but honestly it could've been. A few months later, Emma and I decided to throw a Halloween party even though I was leaving the county for two weeks like the next day. After a few adult drinks, I told Bentley how I felt about Geoffrey. Because Bentley is terrible at keeping secrets, they spill the beans on a confession little Geoffrey made months prior. Now realizing that Bentley held the future to what the world knows today as the greatest love story to ever exist, I immediately instructed them to never tell Geoffrey. Geoffrey found out about 3 minutes later. Flash forward a few days and I'm visiting my friend Taylor in Cambodia. We're living it up-going to temples, getting parasites, eating pork-but the entire time I can't shut up about Geoffrey. Taylor urged me to give him a chance and because I generally listen to whatever Taylor tells me to do, I told Geoffrey he was allowed to take me on one date. He did. It was great. We took our relationship seriously from the start. From small outings with friends to Thanksgiving dinners in Philadelphia, we navigated it all with the future of our little family in mind. I'm happy we did. And three years after our first date, we eloped.

Back in 2017 I was new to Atlanta, working my first adult job, and trying to figure things out. One of the things that was figured out for me was who would sublease my room with Joey and Raymond at our new house while I finished out the lease that I was currently under. Ray had just the person, and that is how I met Caroline Loos.. We met and I remembered being a little taken aback by her intensity (which is funny considering how much I love her passion now), but overall she seemed like a cool person. As I started coming around the house more and more to see Joey and Ray, we all ended up hanging out. And Caroline and I started snapchatting. A lot. Like double gold hearts, triple digit streak a lot. At the time, this was a big deal. Even bigger than our continuous snapchat conversation was the friendship we formed. We slowly learned that we shared some similar taste in music, enjoyed spending time together, and both appreciated a well cooked meal, which is how I convinced Caroline to come over every Sunday. I would go to the store, spend too much on ingredients, and then cook the most elaborate recipes I could find for the friend group, just so I could hang out with Caroline more. It was clear I was crushing hard. But I didn't want to mess up the friend group so I tried to (unsuccessfully) squash those feelings, which lasted until Caroline's Halloween party. I went there with the goal to be a good friend who was not going to be weird and talk with just one friend because I thought she was amazing. I was going to be a good party guest and talk to everyone. That lasted until Bentley let it slip that Caroline not only liked me back, but was annoyed that I wasn't showing her any real attention at this party. I don't think I've ever done a quicker course correct in my life. For the remainder of the party I was by her side. A month later we went on a first date and.. well you can tell by the fact that you are reading this that the story had a happy ending.