Joel and I met at the local fair in Montgomery in October 2011. We shared some mutual friends and just happened to be in right place at the right time. Joel came up and started the conversation. We continued talking off and on for a few months after. Then on February 29th, 2012, we finally hung out at the LAMP vs. Brew Tech soccer game. We don't remember who won, but we remember that was the night Joel met my parents (they loved him!). Soon after, he started coming over to my house to hang out with my family and me, and on March 11th, we became boyfriend and girlfriend officially! We dated throughout high school, on to Joel's college years at Auburn University (2013-2017) and my college years at University of South Alabama (2015-2019). Once Joel graduated from Auburn's nursing program, he accepted a job in Mobile and moved down. We got engaged on December 9th, 2017, making all of the years of the awkward growing up stages to the years of distance and everything in between so worth it! Now, we're counting down the days till we can finally be Mr. and Mrs. Hicks!