We met in the Winter Haven High School band room in 1997. Both in the marching band, we share memories of football game half-time shows, band competitions, local parades, and most memorably - the St. Patrick's Day parade in New York City. Aside from band, we walked to and from classes every day, hung out at the local coffee shop in town, went to Disney World, and became great friends during these weird teenage years. Jeff always professed his love to Jamie, but she wanted to remain friends (even though she knew he was someone special and always made her smile really big). Fast forward 15 years, Jeff was settled in New Orleans and Jamie in south Florida. On Facebook, he posted about his father, Steve's retirement from the Dapper Dans at Disney World. Jamie knew she had a picture of Jeff singing with Steve and the Dapper Dans, and sent that over to him. A long-distance romance was sparked there, and thrived even with the miles between us. After a year and a half of plane rides and Facetime calls, Jeff moved to south Florida.
Jeff and I had talked about getting married since he moved to south Florida. Ring ideas were shared and the ball started rolling from there, however I never knew when or where the question would be popped. I knew I wanted to go to Disney World for my birthday, so we started to plan the trip just for a quick weekend away. Being super excited for this trip, we decided to embrace the day - embroidered Mickey hats, Mickey & Minnie shirts, celebratory buttons from Guest Services (secured by Jeff's dad, Steve). Jeff had mentioned that morning that he was singing with the Dapper Dans at their first show on Magic Kingdom's Main Street. I thought "ok, cool! A birthday surprise?". We met Steve near the front gates and made our way into the park. Jeff was noticeably nervous - asking about the metal detector going off if he walked through, pacing while waiting for the Dapper Dans to show up. Once they did, we got a spot somewhat close to watch the show. They sang through their Christmas melody, a variety of Disney tunes, and then a round of Happy Birthday for me. After that, they called up Jeff to sing "Wild Irish Rose" and placed me front and center. He sang this with Steve and the Dapper Dans during a trip we took to the Magic Kingdom during high school (and it's the picture that sparked our new relationship, 15 years later). Towards the end of the song, he walked out from the group, got down on one knee, and said "Marry meeee". The rest of day was truly magical. We spent the morning in the Magic Kingdom, the afternoon in Animal Kingdom, and ended the day with the fireworks back at the castle. We laughed, shared our story with other park guests, watched the shows, and rode the rides. It was the best birthday I could have ever asked for.
After getting engaged in 2018, we began planning what our actual wedding day would be. As we all know, the world had other plans. After a year of uncertainty, we decided to make our marriage legal on January 22, 2021 in small park in Atlanta, Georgia in front of a justice of the peace and a handful of friends. We wanted to celebrate with every single one of our family members and friends, however we also want to keep you safe and healthy in these weird times. We will be overjoyed to celebrate this with you all at a later date.