It all started with two mutual friends who were dating — and decided to play matchmaker. They texted us individually to suggest we go on a date. Braxton was instantly interested. Hailee… was hesitant (okay, very hesitant). At the time, Hailee was in the middle of processing a year-long ministry opportunity in India with StuMo, and Braxton was four months into his ministry residency at Frontline Church. The same week our friends texted us, we somehow got placed in a group chat together — completely unrelated — because Frontline was hosting a StuMo event. At that event, we awkwardly ignored each other the entire night. There was even a moment when Hailee handed Braxton some trash to throw away and neither of us made eye contact. Later that night, Braxton was talking with an old OSU friend and mentioned that he was supposed to ask Hailee out, but wasn’t sure if she was still interested — especially since the couple who had tried to set us up had since broken up (don’t worry, they’re now happily engaged!). Upon hearing this, the friend yelled across the room, “HAILEE!” …and then promptly walked away, leaving Braxton standing awkwardly by himself. So, Braxton finally went over to talk to Hailee — and asked her on a coffee date. Hailee said she’d “get back to him,” still thinking about India. For the next week, Braxton assumed he’d never hear from her again… until one of Hailee’s friends at a baby shower grabbed her phone and texted Braxton back for her: “I would love to go on a coffee date with you!” Our first date was at Evoke Coffee in Edmond — and the rest is history. Date after date, Braxton kept taking risks, knowing Hailee still might move to India. From playing Beautiful As You on their second date to planning spontaneous adventures, he decided it was worth it. On January 10th, we officially started dating, and over the next few months, we grew confident that we wanted to move toward marriage. There were day trips to Dallas to meet Braxton’s best friend, a road trip to Louisiana to meet Hailee’s family for a wedding, weekends in Fayetteville, and countless weddings as each other’s forever date. Fun fact: after our third date, Braxton told his roommate, “If she doesn’t go to India, I’m going to marry her.” And on October 26th, he proposed — and she said yes!