from each of our perspectives:

After nearly five years of being told to make a dating profile and make a passing effort at romance, I finally relented and used the assistance of my sisters to create a Hinge. Things went fine for the first 36 hours; there were a couple of nice conversations here and there but nothing earth-shattering. But then, late in the afternoon of July 27, 2024, I saw a profile for a beautiful woman in a purple shirt with a great head of hair and what I came to learn was an alluring “mew” on her face. I immediately smashed the heart button, only to wait 24 agonizing hours for the reply. By Sunday afternoon, I was convinced this person I wanted to talk to so badly would never reciprocate…until she did with a friendly hello. Seven hours later, it already felt like I had known her for most of my life and our first date was on the books. Four days later, we met in person for drinks and the conversation was effortless. Two weeks later, we were officially a couple. And now, nearly two years later, we will be married. In hindsight, it’s crazy to think I resisted for so long, and I don’t really know how we never crossed paths in this town. But all of that resides in the past and set back so long ago: my personal BC (Before Claire) era. Now, it’s time to write our new history together forever and ever, amen.

I had been on Hinge for a long two months when Jake and I matched. It was a rainy Sunday afternoon, and our first conversation (ranging from John Mayer to Taylor Swift to the Olympics) was promising to say the least. My roommate, Sierra, sent a video message to her friend that day saying, “Claire just met the man she is going to marry.” While I was giggling at her wild claim, a little seed of hope sprouted.  Our first few dates (drinks, dinner, mini golf, and karaoke) ended in Jake asking me to be his girlfriend, and me exclaiming with relief, “yes!”  As we navigated our full lives together, I couldn’t wait for our next little date or big adventure. I learned about his love for the holidays, the movies, trivia and above all, his sweet family and friends. Our worlds collided with ease, and I fell more in love every day.  In April, he asked me about ring shopping, and I went cross-eyed with happiness. Little did I know, he had already asked for my parents’ blessing, and he had a delightful plan in the works.  On August 1st, 2025, our one-year anniversary, Jake made a wrong turn on our way to dinner. He had given me a book of maps of our favorite spots, but the last page had been torn out. “We gotta find that missing page,” he said as he turned into the UGA Soccer Complex. We stepped onto the field, and the “missing page” was on the jumbotron. “Where I ask you to marry me,” it said. “YES!” I exclaimed with relief again, except this time I hadn’t even let him ask the question. He politely asked me to wait as we made our way to midfield, and he asked me to marry him.  “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12). I’m so glad that little seed of hope has become a tree of life. I can’t wait to grow together forever and ever, amen.