Any updates of the wedding day will be added in this section.

We met in the band program of Oxford Middle School. In seventh grade, our band director, in an effort to build community in the program, asked us to introduce ourselves to three new people each day at the start of class. Shaking each other’s hands and meeting each other for the first time there, we each had no idea we would speak much else after that. Fast forwarding to high school, I saw her again sitting across the band hall from me. I noticed her acts of kindness and that she tried not to stand out much, but it only drew me closer to her. There is one specific day in December of 2017 when she walked in wearing contacts for the first time, and that was when I decided to ask her out officially. I was very nervous, so I wrote her an email. She had made plans with friends that weekend, though, so I was shot down. The fact that she gave reason, though kept my hopes up, so I tried again around Valentine’s Day. On the thirteenth of February, I talked to her in the band hall to make sure she didn’t hate me, and then I sent her an email in the immediate next class. I unfortunately didn’t check my email until I got home that day. In the mean time, we passed each other in the hall, and went to an indoor winds rehearsal later that day. The whole time we were casting nervous glances at each other. When I got home, I read her reply while I was cooking dinner with my mom and started dancing around the kitchen. I had asked her to be my Valentine and she had replied with a simple “Yes, I would love to be your Valentine”. The next day I walked in with chocolates and placed them on her stand while she was getting ready for band. The first date that we had was at a band fundraiser called the “Chili Fest”. There were a lot of things that happened that day, but the most important thing was that for the first time, we really sat down and talked. We got to know each other and what our goals and ideals were. I also bought my first gift to her, which was a clarinet lesson with Dr. Rowlett in a silent auction. From here we went on many more dates over the course of our sophomore year, the first few having to be chauffeured since we couldn’t drive yet. Before we started dating, I had applied to go to the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS) as I was very passionate about math and I wanted to pursue it further. It was after we had been dating for a few months, that I decided to tell her. I wanted to make long distance work and I wanted her to be aware of what I was planning. She agreed and so we continued dating despite being about 2 hours away.

We started dating in spring of 2018. We were sophomores in high school. (Both of us were 16.) I first noticed Jamie because he was very talented at his instrument and a kind and respectful person. It was a normal day when I received an email asking me out from a familiar name. I freaked out because I had already made plans with friends. I felt bad for letting him down. A few weeks later it was Valentines day. I had been thinking more about him and realized that I did want to try to ask him out. My solution was to write a love letter and have my friend deliver it to him, like something out of a romance movie. Sadly I chickened out and didn’t give him the letter. The next class period, though, I received an email. It was him. He asked me to be his valentine. I was so excited and so nervous at the same time. (He was the first guy to ask me out.) I said yes, but I couldn’t tell if he had actually seen my reply for the rest of the day so band practice was incredibly awkward with stolen glances. I got his phone number and he got mine. We began texting and having lunch together at school. We opened up very quickly which made me understand more about him as a person early on. The band was having a fundraiser called the Chili Fest. It was an auction and a chili judging contest. He asked if this could be our first official date. It was a wonderful night. We just sat together, talking and enjoying chili. I was nervous about if I had chili on my face for the whole night, but I loved how easy it was to talk to him. We had a great time, and I got to meet his parents that night since it was a band fundraiser. We continued to have more dates through the spring and very quickly did I learn that we had several morals that matched. I was in love, as romantics would say. One evening, later in the semester, I remember vividly dreaming of a life together. He called to let me know he had been accepted to a school two hours away for his junior and senior years of high school. (MSMS) I was devastated because how often do high school long distance relationships work out? After I had time to process I wrote him a letter. It was very corny, but in summary it was me stating that I wanted a future with him, and I was willing to work for that if he was too. He was, I’m happy to say.

Over the next two years of our high school, we continued to grow closer despite the distance and it was in this time that I decided that I was going to marry her upon completing college. Many memories were created, both good and bad, in the wake of the pandemic, but we were able to support each other through it and we survived. It was during this time that we had a conversation about religion and I decided to start attending church with her. After a few months of going to that church, I decided to get baptized near the end of the summer. After this, we were starting college in the fall of 2020. The only issue, I was going to college even further away than I was going to high school. I went to Huntsville, AL to attend the University of Alabama in Huntsville, which was about 3.5 hours away. In the mean time, she was continuing her education at Ole Miss. While this distance was certainly not easy, we were able to make it work and we continued to see each other at least once a month, but normally every other weekend. We would talk about our days and help each other through our years at college. When I changed my major, it was Emily who was there to comfort me and to keep me sane as I didn’t know what was going to happen next. I had placed membership at the Kelly Spring Road Church of Christ and decided that I wanted to live in Huntsville long term once we settled down, and she agreed. About two and half year later I bought an engagement ring with the plan of proposing during our senior year. I got a little too excited and nervous that I wouldn’t be able to keep the ring a secret, so that plan got moved up almost as soon as the ring came in. We went up to Monte Sano state park in Huntsville to get some pictures one Sunday because we had mentioned going on a hike there. We had grabbed Dunkin’ Donuts coffee on the way to church that morning, so while she was in the bathroom, I put the ring box in the coffee cup. We went out to a bluff to take some pictures only to see that someone else was setting up for a wedding in the area. We decided to go on a little side-route in order to better see the view. As she was walking away, I took the ring box out of the cup, and kneeled before getting her attention so she would turn around. When she did so, I forgot to talk for a second before I realized there was a long period of silence when I finally asked “Will you marry me?” to which her response was “What do you think?” From here we had the challenge of a two year long engagement, while we finished college and went back for graduate degrees. It has been a long road with a lot of challenges, but I would never do it again for fear of messing something up. All kidding aside I’m looking forward to starting a family with my biggest supporter.

We continued dating, communication getting better every day. We called or texted almost every day. He would come home on weekends to work just enough for gas to come home the next weekend. We stayed together and grew together through good times and hard times. In fall of 2019, on the way to a Lions Band (all state) tryout Jamie got into a really bad car accident. I was really shaken by this, and I knew then and there that I wanted him in my life always. (One of those ‘I can’t imagine my life without him situations.’) We had been studying the Bible for a while, and soon after we began, Jamie started coming to Church with me and obeyed the gospel. This was also around the time that COVID happened and we were heading off to college. He had decided to go to Huntsville, Alabama for college (which is where my dad went). I stayed in Oxford, Mississippi to go to Ole Miss. I was happy for him, but not excited for another four years of long distance. We continued to make it work, though. The weekends we did see each other were just made sweeter because of the distance. We continued to grow together. We had Bible studies over the phone, we would call randomly to share exciting news, we would simply be there for each other. Fast-forward to October of 2022 he brought me to one of our favorite places in Huntsville. (Monte Sano State Park) He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I joyfully said yes. I was so thankful to God for all He has done for us. I truly don’t see how everything that has happened could be possible, but through His blessings we have made it where we are today. I am so grateful to get to be his wife and for him to be my husband. Two years later we are so close to saying “I Do.” I am so excited to marry my best friend and soon to be husband.