The two most common questions Anna and I get are “How long have you known each other?” and “When was your first date?” The answer to both questions, never fails to surprise people, “Our entire lives.” Our story starts 27 years ago at a little place we call Hardage Farms. I was nervous walking into the Suhr’s house, holding my mom’s hand, not wanting to let go… until I saw Anna, sitting at the kitchen table with a pair of juice boxes and hotdogs. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my entire life, I let go of my mom’s hand and sprinted over to Anna… and well the hotdogs too. Over the next few hours, we fell in love. Little did baby Anna and baby Stephen know, that was where our story would start. Over the years, we remained friends but grew apart, receiving semi-annual life updates from our moms, Sally and Kappy. I loved hearing about all of Anna’s accomplishments and where she was living from Miss Sally. It always left me wanting more. This all changed at Anna’s sister Abby’s engagement party, where my dad, made his iconic appearance in our story. He hadn’t seen Anna since we were kids, and was in awe at the beautiful and accomplished woman she had become. *Light bulb moment* My dad approached Anna and started selling his son. He asked questions like “Would you be opposed to getting married in the Greek church?” “Did you know Stephen is single and has a great job?” When I found out about this ‘exchange’ days later, I was embarrassed and confused. But looking back, my dad was a huge part of why I reconnected with the love of my life. From that night on, Anna and I began talking, catching up on where we left off 27 years ago. Weeks later, Anna was home for the holidays and I couldn’t help but ask her out on a date. On November 25, 2019, we went on our ‘first date,’ which turned into a second, third, fourth and beyond. Since that night, neither of us could imagine a life without each other. The following years were an amazing and exciting blur, from jumping out of airplanes in Austin, to surfing off the Oregon coast and laughing so hard it hurt – all leading to our next chapter, living together in Portland. Our love grew to new heights in Oregon, we were thousands of miles away from home but it didn’t matter, we were together. It was there that I realized home isn’t a place, it’s when you’re with the person you love most. We created a life together, and after two years in Portland, we moved our home back to Atlanta and have never looked back. On September 2, 2023, in Charleston, South Carolina, I dropped to one knee and asked Anna to make me the happiest man in the world, every single day, for the rest of my life. In classic Anna fashion she cried, danced and said “YES!” – but not without some sass, adding “It’s about time!” This is only the beginning of our story. On October 26, 2024, we will start our next chapter as husband and wife.