we're getting married!

We had just graduated high school - Will in Texas, Hayley in Illinois. Somehow, we'd both chosen the same college - in Indiana. It was June 2001. Hayley had just played her last game of softball (they won the championship), & after posing for pictures with her team and its trophy, she got in the car & headed straight to Evansville, IN, for orientation. Will was already there when Hayley arrived. Still in her dusty uniform: cleats, sliding pad & all, she awkwardly plopped herself down in the group, apologizing for being late - and immediately noticed the bright eyed, curly-red-haired smiley kid one or two people away from her. Despite her shyness & his friendliness, Will still managed to get her to talk to him; we became immediate friends, promising to reconnect when school officially started in a couple months. We both secretly had crushes on each other - but didn't know what to do about it - so we lost touch as the school year got underway, & found our own separate friend groups. Fast forward to 1/1/2007, when we reconnected on Facebook. Hayley sent Will a "Happy New Year! So great to be back in touch!" message, hoping he would respond. Well, Will responded alright - over ELEVEN YEARS LATER! 9/19/2018. When Hayley got the message, she was so surprised, she dropped her phone & walked right into a pole! Not wanting to seem overeager, she played it cool & waited as long as she could (which wasn't long at all) before responding. We found that the spark we'd felt as teenagers was still there, & it didn't take more than a few days to know we needed to see each other to make sure it was "real." Spoiler: it is. Will proposed in July 2019. Our original wedding date of 11/6/20 had to be postponed due to the pandemic; while rescheduling was bittersweet, it is only fitting that we are finally getting married a nice, even, TWENTY years after we first met. So: please join us for this LONG overdue celebration of our union! C'mon down to Texas. See y'all in November!