On an autumn day in 2020, Magnolia was sitting on her front porch in Nashville talking to her friend Laura Beth on the phone. Laura Beth was telling a story about her really cool job at the Warren County Public Library when Magnolia interrupted her. "I'm sorry, can you say that last part again? A really hot guy just walked passed my house and I got distracted." The friends laughed about the handsome smiling neighbor and continued their conversation. Over a year later, she met him. Hugh and Magnolia met in Nashville through mutual friends. Hugh had skipped town shortly after noticing Magnolia on the porch and was fresh off of a New England adventure. He had no plans to stay in Tennessee. I suppose we'll never know where he might have gone next. Within a month of meeting Magnolia, it was clear that he wasn't going anywhere without her again. The two immediately felt that their connection was distinct. They fell for each other quickly and intensely. They bonded over film, music and poetry. Early in their friendship Magnolia would attend movies alone at the Belcourt Theatre hoping Hugh would have the same idea. Hugh drove around the city feverishly- listening to playlists Magnolia made and daydreaming about their future together (although he could not possibly have imagined that future would eventually lead him to a Frog Farm in Scottsville, KY- but I'm getting ahead of myself). On the full moon of October 2021, Hugh casually referred to himself as Magnolia's boyfriend. She did not correct him. They moved in together in July of 2022. On their first dates as a couple, Hugh and Magnolia would articulate a feeling of familiarity with one another which expanded further than the months they'd known each other. Magnolia's sister Amelia confessed to molding Hugh out of the mud from their childhood play places and animating it with every single thing Magnolia had ever loved. Hugh's sister Elsa has been more tight lipped about her meddling, but it is suspected that she whispered instructions to the wind to make sure the two would be in the same place at the exact right time. To this day, the glue that binds their relationship together is community and service. In Nashville they were inspired and motivated by the Sunrise Movement, Open Table, and the Nashville Peace and Justice Center to name a few. In Bowling Green they have both been lucky enough to align their values with their employment through the Warren County Public Library and Majestic Greens Farm as well as expand their capacity for volunteer service through the inception of the Bowling Green Neighbors Aid Network which began as a few new friends tromping along the banks of the Barren River with socks and bags of chips and has since become a powerful force for compassion and connection in the Bowling Green community. On their wedding day, Hugh and Magnolia's priority is to say thank you to the communities which raised them, supported them, listened to them- to the folks who have walked beside them, protected them and educated them. We are so honored to celebrate with you.