Stephanie and Everett both attended college in Conway, Arkansas but at distinctly different times. As luck would have it though, both had built lasting friendships with the same small group of people. It was long suspected among this friend group that the two would get along due to shared interests and senses of humor, but conflicting schedules and obligations always seemed to get in the way of the pair meeting and connecting. Finally, on December 29, 2019, the fates aligned to bring Stephanie and Everett together at the annual Hooten-Gibby holiday party. Neither expected to spend the entire evening talking about family, music, travel, and hobbies long into the early hours of morning. There was an instant connection between the two of them that forever changed the course of their lives, and they have their good friends to thank for making all of this possible.

Stephanie and Everett have a tradition of reading new issues of the comic book series Saga on the same day they are released, together in bed so neither person can spoil it for the other. Part of this tradition has always been reading the letters sent in by fans at the end of each issue. In July of 2022 Everett told Stephanie he was planning to write a fan letter to the author/illustrator duo as an expression of gratitude for their work and Stephanie agreed to help with edits prior to his submission. Unbeknownst to Stephanie at the time though, Everett sneakily made a crucial addition of his proposal at the end of the letter just before sending it off. Unfortunately for poor Everett, he had unknowingly submitted his fan mail proposal just as the comic's creators took a six-month hiatus from the series, so he had to wait until January of the next year to see if his proposal was going to be published. On the date that the newest Saga issues were set to arrive, Everett made his regular trek to the local comic book store and picked up his regular selections from the people behind counter, knowing that today was the day he’d find out whether or not his letter had been published. He walked out to his car, pulled out the newest issue of Saga, and flipped straight to the back pages where the letters are published, and there it was--his proposal, accompanied by a heartfelt response from the series author Brian K. Vaughn that teased about the fact that he’d received Everett’s letter the day after the last issue before the hiatus was published. That night, Stephanie and Ev kept their tradition, reading the entire issue together, but this particular read-along was obviously quite special. As Stephanie read the letter, her eyes lit up in excitement when she saw the familiar words. She tapped Everett’s shoulder frantically as she read on, not having seen the letter's end quite yet. Naturally, the comic geniuses at Saga had printed the letter split between a flipped page, so there was absolutely no jumping ahead! Ev looked on as Steph continued reading, holding his breath as he watched her eyes widen when she read the final lines. Bewildered, she enthusiastically accepted. Stephanie then wrote in a letter of her own, sharing her own story of what Saga meant to her and giving an update on the proposal. Much to Everett and Stephanie's surprise and joy, her letter was published too with more kind words from the author. Everett’s proposal to Stephanie and her letter letting everyone know she said “Yes” are now a part of one of their favorite comic book series and have been read by thousands of people across the world.

We cannot wait to celebrate our marriage with friends and family soon! Please RSVP on this website by March 18, 2024.