Bailey and Mikayla have been friends since 2017 when Bailey moved into Mikayla’s hall as a new bethelite. Over the first couple of years Bailey would spend time with the McClure family and enjoyed stirring up arguments amongst siblings by influencing Cody to stand up and defend himself as the little brother, much to Mikayla’s annoyance. Occasionally, Bailey and Mikayla would share moments here and there, talking after meeting, or swing dancing together. During the pandemic, a small group of friends in the hall would get together for game nights over Zoom. Bailey didn’t seem to take too much interest in the group as he was hit and miss for the first few months. That seemed to change after seeing each other in person in August 2021. Bailey was more regularly involved in group activities, much to Michele’s (Mikayla’s mom) suspicion. The “Game Night” group eventually turned into the “Sit and Chat” group. Bailey saw this as the perfect opportunity to start asking viewpoint questions “to the group,” when really he was only focused on Mikayla’s answers as he looked to get to know her better. A few months later after Bailey had begun his new assignment at Warwick and moved congregations, he returned to Shokan for a congregation picnic weekend where they got to dance together again. The day after the picnic, Bailey joined the McClure’s and a few friends at the Catamount Aerial Adventure Park, where Mikayla’s ankle would have an unfortunate run in with a zip line platform. As a former EMT, Bailey immediately jumped into action getting first aid supplies from the workers and wrapping Mikayla’s ankle. Once again, Michele was very suspicious of Bailey’s eagerness to help, but this time Mikayla found herself suspicious as well. Her suspicions were seemingly confirmed when Bailey would later give her a record player after Mikayla mentioned she needed one. The two would see each other once again as the McClure family invited a few friends out for a beach day. Bailey seemed particularly interested in any activity Mikayla was taking part in that day. So finally, after wondering whether or not Bailey was ever going to make the first move, Mikayla sent Bailey a text to tell him how much she enjoyed spending time with him that day. Once Bailey finally composed himself enough (35 minutes later) to send a reply, they talked and began their courtship. Fast forward a few months, and now they’re looking forward to sharing their wedding day with all of you!