We’re getting married!

Connor and I have been doing long-distance for over a year now. He’s finishing up his last semester in Knoxville, and I graduated early last year and have been working in Nashville. But before all that, we met in the most random way—through Instagram DMs and a totally platonic networking message (or so I thought). One day, Connor requested to follow me on Instagram. I noticed his LinkedIn link in his bio and saw that he was involved in some entrepreneurship clubs at UT. At the time, I was a junior trying to get more involved in that world, so I sent him a super casual DM. “Hey Connor! I see you’re passionate about entrepreneurship, and I am too. Are you a part of any clubs around here at UTK? I’m wanting to network with others who are similarly minded like you!” You know, just two ambitious people making connections. Nothing more, right? Connor, being Connor, responded immediately and asked me to coffee within two messages. Very direct. Very on-brand. Very Connor. We met up at Seed Coffee Co. (which thankfully had peppermint mochas, so already a win). What was supposed to be a quick “networking” coffee chat turned into hours of conversation. We had insane chemistry right away, but at that point, I still wasn’t thinking of anything beyond friendship. But then we both kept finding reasons to hang out more. Within three weeks, I realized this wasn’t just networking anymore. Connor was intentional, direct, and actually serious about me. After taking me to church and introducing me to his family, he told me he didn’t want to just be friends and asked me to be his girlfriend. I wasn’t sure I was ready for a relationship, so I told him I needed to think about it. That’s when he sat me down at a random picnic table and told me something I’ll never forget. “When I date, I date to marry…and as crazy as this sounds, I could see myself marrying you.” It caught me off guard at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that his honesty and intentionality were exactly what made him different. After a day of thinking it over, I told him yes. Now, a year and some months later, here we are, planning a wedding and realizing that one Instagram DM changed everything.