We met at a cross country meet in high school where Jaymes was competing and I was covering the story for the school newspaper. While we had mutual friends and knew of each other beforehand, the first time we interacted involved me snapping candids of him competing against my home team. Sparks flew, and we dated throughout the remainder of my high school years. When I went off to UGA, things quieted down between us due to distance. After graduation, we reconnected at Fuzzy's in downtown Athens for a football game, and we picked right back up where we left off. The connection was still so strong that we made impromptu plans to return to Athens the following weekend for another game just to see each other. The rest is history!

For my 26th birthday, Jaymes indulged me in my request to travel to Chateau Elan for a winery weekend. We are both fond of all things wine-related, so requesting a birthday getaway to a venue we would both enjoy wasn’t a hard sell. Little did I know that Jaymes had more in mind than a glass of merlot and a birthday dinner. After rounding up his brother, sister in law, and my best friend Faith, I expected a fun afternoon filled with flight samples and winery tours. In the midst of taking a few photos before heading inside to a tour of the grounds, Jaymes launched into a speech. He spoke of friendship, of gratitude, and thanked our guests for joining us for a much-needed birthday getaway... and then he dropped down to one knee and presented me with the engagement ring of my dreams. To be honest, I can’t remember much about his actual words, I was too in awe! Saying yes to forever with Jaymes was hands down the easiest decision of my life.