It all started back in Oklahoma when we were both invited by a mutual friend to attend a lake weekend at Grand Lake. One of the nights, we were all at a bar hanging out. Thomas approached me (aka Jessica, if you didn't pick up that I am writing this) and and introduced himself. Both of us remember feeling an instant connection, different than when we had met other people before. Our conversation felt natural, like we had known each other for a long time even though it was our first time meeting. The more we talked, the more we realized we had a lot in common, and we found ourselves finding excuses to talk and joke around with one another the rest of the weekend. At that time, Thomas was living in KC, and I was in St. Louis, so when the end of the weekend came around, we had to part ways. On the drive home, I wondered if I was ever going to see him or talk to him again. I didn't have to wonder long because Thomas couldn't even wait until I got back home from my 5 hour drive to text me. Mr "Smooth Operator" used my pet drawing business as an excuse to reach out and ask me to draw his family's dog. As you can imagine, this move worked, and we continued texting and getting to know one another. We found ourselves eventually calling, talking, and laughing on the phone for hours until 2 AM, with neither one of us wanting to hang up. Eventually, Thomas brought up wanting to visit me in STL over Labor Day weekend. I was nervous because this would be our first time hanging out together, and my parents were also coming to see me that weekend. So, I told him he would need to leave before my parents came into town since it would be weird to meet the parents for our first time hanging out, and he agreed to that plan. He drove in that Friday night and planned to leave Saturday morning like we had talked about. Of course, I was loving every minute of getting to be with him, and I didn't want him to leave! I concluded that if this was meant to be, then I could put Thomas to the test and have him meet my parents that weekend (not a very romantic first hangout/date weekend together...sorry Thomas!). To no surprise, he passed the "test" with flying colors! After that, we found ourselves looking for any weekend we could drive to see each other and spend time together. About 3 months later, I moved to KC and it has been such a fun adventure for both of us. Fun fact: The summer before we met, our mutual friend showed each of us pictures of the other, and I said, "Nope, he's too short," and Thomas said, "Nope, she's too tall". Lesson learned that short kings and tall queens are the way to go! Fast forward 3 years later, and we are at the beach in Charleston, SC at sunset getting engaged, and now we are busy planning our forever together! We can't wait to celebrate with you on October 3rd as we say "I do" and start our journey together. - Thomas and Jess