We met at a time when the world still seemed normal; it was January 2020 when we went on our first date in Durham, NC. Kevin was in his first year at Duke getting his MBA and Kelly was working as an art director at a local advertising agency. We connected in the classic fashion—through an app—and quickly knew that we had to meet in person. Durham has an incredible Italian restaurant called Mothers and Sons, and Kevin knew it would be the perfect place for a first date (who doesn't love trying to impress your date while classily attempting to slurp up spaghetti?). True to form, Kelly was running slightly behind (Kevin would disagree that it was “slightly”). When she walked in and found Kevin at the table to the left of the door, we didn't know that this conversation was going to change the rest of our lives. That first conversation centered on corgis and travel, but it was quickly apparent that there would be a second, third, and fourth date. Kelly loved Kevin's smarts, sense of humor, kindness, and love of travel, and Kevin loved Kelly's spontaneity, the fact she could make him laugh, and importantly, her love for dogs. A little more than a month passed and Kevin knew he had to shoot his shot in asking Kelly to be his girlfriend. He chose the perfect moment—after Kelly had just had gum graft surgery and was hopped up on drugs. She said yes, while slurping down a lobster bisque and mac n’ cheese that Kevin brought her. Romance was at a peak. The beginning of March was filled with fun dates, talks about dreams and the future, and what we could do over the next year together. Kevin left for Morocco and Portugal with his MBA classmates and we looked forward to his return. And then, March 11, 2020 happened. Covid was officially declared a pandemic and we were 3,706 miles away from each other. By what we can only chalk up as a miracle, Kevin was able to get himself and his friends out of Portugal and back to the United States on what was probably one of the last flights before Trump closed the borders. Once home, Duke enforced a pretty strong quarantine policy. Durham was shutting down by the hour, so in a CDC-defying move, Kelly went to quarantine with Kevin. The quarantine period passed, but Kelly didn’t leave. From there, we got closer than ever. We fell in love with cooking together, balanced working and going to school while being in a 700 sq ft apartment, and planned for our next move. We got our dog, Hamilton, Kelly started a new job, Kevin received a job offer in Atlanta for the following year, and together we worked through the loss of Kelly’s father, Gary. We experienced a lot of life together in our first year, and it truly created the foundation for our relationship and upcoming marriage. From Durham we made plans for Atlanta and got ready for our next adventure. Along the way we experienced our love for travel with trips to California, Costa Rica, the North Carolina coast, Hilton Head, Colorado, Kansas City, Nashville, Norfolk, Hawaii, and Savannah. It was a magical season together, filled with enough travel stories to last a lifetime. Moving to Atlanta has brought us many new opportunities, friends, and an incredible first home that we purchased last year. We’re beyond grateful for what this city has given us. Kevin got down on one knee on December 23, 2022 at the Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado. It was -10 degrees and he wasn’t sure if Kelly would get out of the car to go on a “walk.” While it certainly was cold, the moment was beautiful and a memory we will have forever. We’re so incredibly excited to share our wedding with you in Savannah! See you all very soon.