We first met in 2016 when we were both attending Georgia Southern University in Statesboro. Matt worked at a bar that a few of my friends worked at. The funny part is we knew each other for almost a full year, Matt had made friends with my friends, but we had never spoken to one another. Finally, in January of 2017 Matt spoke (lol). Our first date was in early February, and we became inseparable after that. If we weren’t in class or at work, we were with each other. In April I took Matt to Swainsboro to meet my Lala, and she loved him instantly. She would always call him Mike or Mark whenever he would come over to do yard work or to visit, and no one ever noticed until much later on. She didn’t even notice she was calling him the wrong name. Lala got to know Matt for about a year, and she would always say “Jerica found a winner”. She was so excited for the wedding, and I know she will be there with the best seat in the house. It’s actually a running joke with my entire family now (and I mean my ENTIRE family) to call Matt “Mike” or “Mark” just because that’s what Lala did. I promise that’s their way of showing him they love him. In May I came to Matt’s hometown and got to meet the majority of his family. Of course, I was nervous. In July, he flew to Texas with me to meet my parents and siblings. That was probably the most nerve racking flight I’ve ever been on. I just knew my three brothers were going to act “tough” towards Matt, but they loved him. As did my parents. Fast forward to Christmas and my parents are driving from Texas to spend Christmas in Georgia. Little did I know that Matt and my dad had a certain talk shortly before Christmas night, when Matt completely surprised me in front of both our families when he got down on one knee. I was so overwhelmed that I ugly cried (a lot) but I was beyond filled with joy. Now here we are, just a few weeks away from our big day on Jekyll! We can’t wait to share this day with all of our friends and family.