One fateful night in 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina, two paths crossed. An adventurous woman from Indianapolis, and a determined man from Durham matched wits on a dating app and decided to take our banter from the virtual space to reality. Our first date landed us at a Brazilian steakhouse downtown, where we both wasted James' money, only having one plate a piece. The cutesy facade soon gave way to our real personalities as a genuine connection formed. Both strongly opinionated, our first argument soon followed. Yes... on our first date. Rather than dooming us as a couple, we decided we liked the challenge and wanted to see each other again. Many dates followed, and we bonded over sports, museums, game nights, movies, and most especially, dancing at after-hours Jamaican clubs. From strangers, we soon became best friends, supporting each other through hard times and pushing each other to emerge as our best selves, advance in our careers, explore new things and places and love more genuinely than we thought possible.

Jay and Whitley planned a visit to Indiana in March to link up with friends and family. They planned to meet Kelli, Brandon, Rolanda, Eric for a couple's date night, but when Kelli led Whitley to her basement to show-off her "room makeover" it was instead filled with rose petals and candlelight. Jay stood in the center with their favorite John Legend song playing and tons of friends and family crowded behind him. He got down on one knee and of course Whitley said "Yes!". Unbeknownst to Whitley, Jay had been sneaking around behind her back(which took some real effort) and inviting their friends and family to come to Indianapolis for months. It was a beautiful surprise. We can't wait to celebrate this next chapter in our lives with you! See you in Charlotte!