We're getting married!

In light of everything going on right now, ya know — the global pandemic, we have decided to err on the side of caution and switch to a small wedding that abides by Louisiana’s current gathering restrictions. While we know a lot could change over the next few weeks, we want to move forward with a plan that takes into account the health and safety of our loved ones and also limits uncertainty. We will still be married on October 24 in a more intimate setting. We cannot wait to celebrate with each and every one of you. Until then, please keep us in your thoughts on October 24 as we start our journey as husband and wife. Love, Travis & Payton

We cannot agree on the details of how we met so here are our versions. We'll let you decide. Setting: We both lived in an apartment complex right off campus. A prime tailgating location. It was the LSU/Ole Miss game (that one time Ole Miss was a competitor in the SEC) and it was a huge deal. College Gameday was there. It was LSU Homecoming. We ended up winning the game and storming the field, which was a highlight of my (Payton's) student career. Payton's Version: My friends and I had been up since about 5 am participating in all of the College Gameday festivities. We had a huge tailgate at our condo for every game. Mallory (my roommate and MOH) and I were always trying to make friends with our neighbors. When I saw this guy minding his own business while walking towards campus, I yelled "Hey want to shotgun a beer?" and he shrugged and said "Sure." He ended up hanging out at our tailgate for a while and we realized we grew up in the same area. He got my number and then went to meet his friends. Travis's Version: I had just gotten home from work and was going to meet my buddies who were tailgating on campus. Then I heard a bunch of girls yelling. Pretty sure they called me over to take pictures of them, but it was a bunch of girls so I said why not and walked over.

When we met, I had never been hunting – nor had I ever wanted to in my entire life. When I casually mentioned this to Travis, he invited me to his camp so that I could try to shoot a doe. I hesitantly said yes, not having a clue what sort of “camp” I was going to. Long story short, IT RAINED THE ENTIRE TIME, we saw no deer, and it was freezing. Fast forward to us stopping at his Uncle Eric’s vet clinic to say hi. Travis's uncle asked him for a favor. He needed to do an autopsy on a baby alpaca and asked Travis to go pick him up from the owner’s house with one rule: do not drive on the grass. As we drive up to where this BABY alpaca was, we realized we’d have to walk quite a ways from the truck to the barn as we had to leave the truck in the driveway and the barn was across the yard. We walk into the barn and search for the alpaca. We finally see one lying in the corner stall. As we are walking up to it, we realize this is far from a baby alpaca. I emphasize baby because we were under the impression that Travis would be able to carry it by himself. Travis looks at this fully grown alpaca, looks at me and reluctantly tells me that I’m going to have to help carry this animal across the yard and lift it into the back of the truck. He proceeds to ask me which end I would prefer to carry. With a long pause and much self-encouragement, I picked up this animal. I don’t remember which side I chose – I think I mentally blocked it. As we are making our way through the yard, I have to stop approximately five times and re-gain the confidence to resume this very strange activity with this guy that I had only known for a few weeks. Thirty minutes later, we made it to the truck. I rode back to the clinic with my hands in the air like I had just scrubbed in for a surgery. Travis laughed said that he would turn me into a country girl eventually. And, he was the reason I lived in The Middle of Nowhere, Arkansas, for 8 months so at least I know he keeps his word.