We both would agree upon moving, there was a nice ring to claiming Nashville as our new home, and a subconscious excitement that was ever-present. Whether it was the charm of the city itself, or the reality that those two Midwesterners in their mid-20s were about to meet their forever match was yet to be determined. It didn’t take long to discover both were true. Brian & I both had made the move to Music City to begin a new career at the AllianceBernstein headquarters in downtown Nashville. I moved in March of 2022, and Brian moved shortly after in May of 2022. Having never crossed paths until Brian’s first day in the office, I walked into our break room on the 19th floor overlooking downtown Nashville & my typical distraction of gazing out at the city streets & rolling hills of Tennessee was quickly interrupted by noticing there was a very handsome man present in the breakroom (wearing an Ohio State polo). I could tell he was new as I observed him searching for the coffee cups for at least 30 seconds which gave me the perfect in: “You must be new? The coffee cups are there on the shelf.” As he turned around, a warm, professional handshake was exchanged with an introduction and a handful of smiles. & We went on our way. Weeks later, after a long day at work, I stepped out for an afternoon run & headed downtown. Much to my surprise, I glanced up to see Brian walking towards me. Stopped in my tracks yet again, we both paused to exchange a few words & many smiles. During this interaction, noticing Brian was headed in the direction I had just come from, we discovered we were neighbors. Brian smoothly leveraged this realization to offer his company anytime I wanted to walk to work & ensured I could text him anytime I was interested. Contact information was exchanged. 2.5 years later, we have still never walked to work together. But, the intentionality behind exchanging contact information led to our first date. Days later, we were walking to the gulch for freshly squeezed juice at Milk & Honey. It was clear to me after the first date I hoped there would be many more. I had plans with friends that same evening; without hesitation, I invited Brian to join. I was excited to see the interest was mutual when he showed up; it didn't take long to realize he fit right in. We all enjoyed a night out on the town. At the close of the night, Brian accompanied my girlfriends & I on our ride home. Appreciating the gesture to make sure we got home safe, as we pulled up to our final stop, my friends all ran inside as quick as they could, locking the door behind them, laughing & reminding me they had a bet: I couldn't come back inside until I kissed someone. I looked back at them & rolled my eyes knowing I never agreed to the nonsense, & then turned to face Brian to apologize for the awkwardness, assure him they could be disregarded, & began to thank him again for an all-around great day. Before I could finish my sentence, I was met with a kiss. Yes; sparks most certainly flew in that moment. A simple kiss was followed by many intentional conversations which lead to the thrill of starting a very fun & growing relationship here in Nashville. Brian’s intentionality remained consistent & on full display when my parents came to town. He must have given my Dad an even more confident handshake than he gave me upon meeting me in the office. Whatever he did, it worked. Somehow, my parents knew I was very much falling hard for Brian long before I had expressed to them how I really felt. Parents….why are they always right? Fast forward 2.5 years & here we are: On the back side of intentional conversations, growing together, running together, traveling together, & seeing every live show in Nashville we possibly can...doing life together through the good & the hard as best friends & lovers.

We are so grateful for how our stoy has unfolded here in Nasville, TN. We can’t wait to welcome you to this beautiful city that God has used so magnificently to write our love story. We hope you can join us for our marriage ceremony & celebration!