Let's celebrate!

Josh and I met on the first day of high school in Ms. Mickelson’s Biology class. We would become great pals in English class, bonding over SAT vocabulary and Shakespeare Sparknotes. Throughout high school, we remained friends and Josh was always quick to volunteer to carry my bookbag when I was on crutches. Sophomore year of college, Josh needed a last-minute date to his fraternity formal and I was willing to take advantage of a free trip to Hilton Head in October. We had a blast that weekend, strictly as friends, but we checked in more frequently following the trip. Josh came to Chapel Hill in May of 2013 while I was taking classes before a summer abroad. We were certainly entering a more-than-friends zone, but I chose to act blissfully unaware. We spent a few weeks together in Charlotte when I got home, going to a Panthers pre-season game and a Kenny Chesney concert. I now know that Josh would’ve never gone to a Kenny Chesney concert under different circumstances. We both returned to our respective colleges in August but stayed in very regular contact. I found myself calling Josh whenever I was walking home alone (not advisable!) and he always picked up. When Josh called to invite me to his formal again, I had several friends tell me that I shouldn’t go unless I intended to be more-than-friends. So, I decided I would take a trip to Boone in September with an open mind, with no preconceived notions about “my high school friend, Josh.” I’m sure you can imagine that the weekend was incredible, and the rest is, as they say, history. We started officially dating during that formal weekend a few weeks later in October 2013. We held hands in the car as we left Hilton Head, knowing that were we going to have to figure out a long-distance relationship. We put a lot of miles on our cars between Boone and Chapel Hill and then between Raleigh and Atlanta. By January 2016, we both landed in Atlanta. What a ride it’s been – and we’re just getting started!

Maggie and I met on the first day of 9th grade. We quickly became (and stayed) close friends all through high school. If you know us both well, you know we're both talkers which is probably why we've always gotten along so well. I remember one Thanksgiving in 10th grade when we were on the phone for probably an hour and she told me about all her favorite dishes (corn pudding was #1). One of us has always had something to say, and the other has always been there to listen. We ended up at different colleges but fall of my sophomore year I needed a last minute date to my fraternity’s formal and asked her to come with me. We had a blast and then went our separate ways, but we started to keep in touch a little more closely. The following summer we spent a lot of time together and went on our first unofficial date to a preseason Panthers game. Her dad drove us there and told me about how loudly she can burp (he was right). That fall, after we returned to school, she came to visit me in Boone and I took her to Macado’s, home of the best cinnamon roll in the world, and the rest was history. We’d spend the next couple of years visiting each other in our respective college towns and eventually both found jobs in Atlanta after graduation. In 2019, we decided it was time to move in together, which quickly turned into spending 24 hours a day in each others’ presence as we endured a global pandemic as relatively new roommates in a 1 BR/1 BA apartment. By mid-2020 she still hadn't gotten tired of me, which is how I knew it was time to put a ring on it.