The Baileys | July 10, 2026

Rachel and Koby attended school together all their lives. In Lexington, Texas, it's hard to not cross paths so this was not a case of a typical missed connection. Both were avid band geeks and spent hundreds of hours (we're guesstimating here) setting up fields for marching practice and riding busses to games that were too far away. Although they shared many friends, they never considered each other to be friends. Despite that, Koby still saved Rachel's life one early morning while setting up a drum major podium - Rachel, although sustaining a concussion, remembers this very clearly while Koby had no recollection until Rachel reminded him. Around March 2020, Rachel heard from a friend that Koby was recently single. She said, "I would have to wife him up." A direct quote! It took a few months for Koby to get the hint until he reached out in December 2020 to reconnect. In a happy set of circumstances, Koby was set to move to Fort Worth that summer (just 30 minutes from where Rachel was living at the time) and the rest is history. They spent summer of 2020 watching Game of Thrones, checking out local breweries, and trying to convince their hometown friends that they were "just friends". After all, they say the best life partners start out as friends... After a few trips to meet families, one incident where Rachel wasn't sure if Koby sneezed weirdly or actually said "I love you" for the first time, and a lot of miles on Rachel's car, the summer together turned into a long (then shorter) distance relationship as they finished school and started their careers. In July of 2025 on their fourth anniversary, Koby planned the ultimate proposal in College Station. A day spent eating their favorite foods (and tackling some mundane chores) also included a trip to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library where the weather and outfits weren't ideal for Koby's plans. They headed home, got dolled up, went out for a drink to calm Koby's nerves (where the ring was in his sock the whole time), and returned to the rose gardens at the Library. Little to Rachel's knowledge, their closest friends had decorated the area and a photographer was waiting for their big moment! Just when Rachel thought the best day of her life was winding down with a cozy dinner with her new fiancé... their closest friends and family were waiting for them at the resturant. Neither anticipated as teenagers that this would be the end game for them, but they wouldn't have it any other way. What is meant to be will find a way, and this did.