here's to forever

Everyone has their happy place. For Michael and Skylar, Lake Burton quickly comes to mind - full of love, laughter and the start of a lifetime together. It began in 2018 - Skylar had just started her freshman year at Georgia College. Sorority recruitment started the morning after move in. Her dorm neighbors included Caroline Hill and Stephanie Frye, who became her fast friends and later, her ADPi sorority sisters. Fast forward a few months, and Stephanie introduced Skylar to her hometown friends. One of those friends was Laura Hudson, who just happens to be Michael’s cousin. In May 2019, just after wrapping up their freshman year, Laura invited the group to her family’s beloved “Camp Dunbar” on Lake Burton. She had asked her cousin Michael, a freshman at UGA, to drive up for the weekend to help out. It only took a short time for Michael and Skylar to hit it off. Summer went by and soon the two were back in their college towns for sophomore year. Milledgeville’s annual Deep Roots Festival was approaching in October, and Laura so “subtly” mentioned that Michael would be coming to visit. She joked that Michael would likely be interested in trying to rekindle things again and that she would finally “allow it." Much to no one's surprise, it was like not a moment had passed since that May lake weekend. November shortly arrived along with Skylar’s birthday and sorority formal, where she asked Michael to be her date. The following weekend, Michael then asked Skylar to join him at his fraternity semi formal and the UGA vs. Texas A&M game, where he asked her to be his girlfriend. The two continued to build their relationship throughout college, traveling between schools to attend each others sorority and fraternity date nights, events and UGA football games. Whenever they had a free weekend, they often made a trip back to Camp Dunbar. They attended each other’s college graduations, where Skylar graduated with a B.A. in Communications with minors in Graphic Design and Spanish, and Michael with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. They retreated back to their hometowns post college, continuing to regularly see one another on weekends. Skylar eventually moved to Roswell to be closer to her Newell Brands office in Sandy Springs, moving in with another one of her college best friends, Brittney. After about a year, Michael and Skylar then moved into their own place in Johns Creek in January 2024. On June 29th, 2024, Camp Dunbar hosted a birthday celebration for Laura, Stephanie, Brittney and Caroline. What Skylar didn’t know was that it would also become the site of her and Michael’s engagement. After enjoying some nearby wineries that morning, the group retreated back to the house. Michael’s mom, Angela, as she regularly does, asked the two to head out to the dock for a photo. Much to Skylar’s surprise, she turned around to Michael being down on one knee, where she said yes to the rest of their lives together.