We met in an ethical gray area when DJ was Lauree’s patient at Rankin Physical Therapy. After months of “good vibes” and chemistry, DJ left his Snapchat for her to add him and we had our first date about a week after he was discharged.

DJ considers himself smart given that he waited to have our first date until the week after Valentine's Day. Little did he know, he was signing up to now get Lauree two gifts in one week every year now (of course, until June 2024 when we will have a new anniversary to celebrate). We had gone to our now favorite restaurant in Martinsburg on an icy night in February 2021. DJ went to the bathroom at one point, and Lauree managed to pay the bill while he was gone, a move he reminds her about at least once a week.

Lauree had never in her life been to a professional wrestling show. She'd seen a little bit here and there, but had never even sat to watch a full show. DJ began wrestling at the professional level in 2013 as Tony Costello. Since then, he's evolved into the Golden Gladiator Anthony Athens and then finally to Sebastian, a painter with the mental stability of 2007 Brittany Spears. Lauree couldn't be more excited to be Mrs. Athens or Mrs. Sebastian, even though the garage in the house is now being used as his art studio.

Lauree knew something was up when DJ planned a whole weekend for them at Deep Creek Lake, MD. Every trip we’d taken together, she’d done all the planning and reservations. She was convinced he was going to propose and looked for the ring in his bag when he was showering. When she couldn’t find it, she’d decided she must’ve exaggerated the whole weekend in her head. The next day, he’d planned for a trip to Swallow Falls to take pictures after having lunch with his family for Dad’s birthday. Freezing but warmed by the love of the Jolley family, DJ asked if Lauree would be his wife. Through tears, she, of course, said YES!

The wedding date itself is very symbolic for the family. On June 16th, 2024 (the day after our Big Day), Lauree's parents, Mike and Maria will be celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. Their wedding anniversary also just so happened to be the wedding anniversary of Maria's parents, Joe and Irene (known to Will and Lauree as NaNa and PapPap). We know if they were still with us, they would be thrilled to have us sharing the weekend as well with them. The weekend is very special and we're very excited to add onto the tradition.