We eloped! But we are so excited to celebrate with you 10.22.2022

I say "met" because Drew and I both grew up attending Oak Mountain schools and were even in the same 3rd grade class. We've technically known each other a very long time, though neither of us remember ever conversing. Drew's best friend Will Payne has an older sister, Hailey, who I had become friends with through working as a nurse at UAB. We both attended her wedding in 2020 and Drew & I caught eyes during the ceremony and waved to one another from across the room. Later, at the reception, he came to say hello and we chatted for 15 minutes or so about what we had been up to since graduating and that our moms play tennis together. Three days after the wedding he Facebook messaged me and asked for my number. Three days after that we were on our first date at Automatic Seafood where we talked until the restaurant closed.

Drew always told me that he didn't believe that the girlfriend should be a part of the engagement planning or the ring shopping. However, if you know me at all, you know I am a planner so being kept in the dark was super hard! I found myself doing my nails more and wearing a cute outfit "just in case". Drew completely shocked me though when he was down on one knee in my condo as I walked in from work on a Thursday evening! He told me he was still at work but would come by to see me before heading back to his house in Oxford and I had no reason not to believe him. I was so surprised and excited! Drew had asked my parents for their permission earlier that day at lunch and said he decided after lunch that he did not want to wait. I am so glad he couldn't wait because I was tired of doing my nails so often- although ironically I had no nail polish on when he proposed.

We knew from the beginning that we did not want to have a very long engagement. To make things easier, we pretty quickly decided to elope on our upcoming trip to Canada and to plan a reception for sometime in the Fall. We stayed at the Fairmont Chateau on Lake Louise the night before our special day and woke up at 5AM to get ready for our 6AM ceremony. The best lighting is morning light according to our photographer and it also was a time when not many tourists would be walking around. Our photographer took Drew out to the lake so that I could finish getting ready and we could have a true "First Look". We then exchanged our vows and rings and both ugly cried the entire time, but it was so perfect. We got legally married in Alabama before we left, but are so happy we chose to have our own intimate ceremony surrounded by the beautiful blue waters of Lake Louise, and the Rocky mountains.