Kailee and Brandon met during their time at West Virginia Wesleyan College. While they had a class together sophomore year, they didn’t actually meet each other until a formal hosted by her sorority, Alpha Xi Delta, during their junior year. They were each in relationships at that time, so it wasn’t until the second semester of their senior year that they reconnected and began dating. The fact that this relationship continued past the first date is just proof that this was meant to be. Kailee invited Brandon to lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. The group was supposed to include some of her sorority sisters, but Brandon was assured that other guys would be there, too. An unconventional first date, to be sure, but Brandon accepted nonetheless. When Brandon arrived, he was greeted by about 60 of Kailee’s sorority sisters and the best man, Josh Lopitz. No other guys were there, and the one guy that was there, Josh, was the sweetheart for the sorority. Brandon was the only member of the party that was not affiliated with Alpha Xi Delta. As one might imagine, this isn’t exactly the best setting in which to get to know someone. But it doesn’t stop there, as Kailee spilled her glass of water on Brandon during that date. Nevertheless, the relationship survived that date.

The two continued dating through graduation, where the couple would encounter their first major hurdle. Kailee had recently accepted a position with the newspaper in Brandon’s hometown of Clarksburg. However, Brandon had recently committed to attend Wake Forest University, School of Law in Winston-Salem, NC (which is not in Clarksburg). The couple dated long-distance for the entire first year of law school, but this put a strain on the relationship, as distance tends to do. So as Brandon was deciding what to do in the way of living arrangements for his second school year, he had a thought – ask his girlfriend to quit her job and move five hours away to a town of about 250,000 people while knowing only one. Of course, she obliges and moves down during the summer of 2017. As many couples do, Kailee and Brandon faced a trying adjustment period during the first few months living together, a problem only exacerbated by the stress of law school (him) and job hunting (her). Eventually, things settled down and the two adjusted to cohabitation. This adjustment came after Brandon learned that there are only two ways to empty the dishwasher: Kailee’s way and the wrong way. The couple found their groove after settling in and the relationship blossomed. Brandon spent most of his time scheming of new ways to scare Kailee, and Kailee spent most of her time trying to convince Brandon to let her adopt a third cat (in which she was ultimately successful).

While the couple travelled to her parents’ home outside of Nashville, TN for Thanksgiving, Brandon decided to propose to Kailee. Fortunately, Brandon did not have difficulty in planning this proposal, as Kailee had made it abundantly clear that she wished to be proposed to on Christmas. So that Christmas, the Christmas of 2018, surrounded by his family, Brandon got down on one knee and proposed during the gift exchange. While Kailee was certainly shocked (as Brandon had been repeatedly telling her that he would not be proposing to her anytime soon), so was his family. Only three of the roughly 20 people in attendance knew of his plan to propose. Brandon certainly struggled with keeping this secret, even though he only had to keep it for roughly a month. In fact, he actually had the ring shipped straight to his parents’ house because he knew that he wouldn’t be able to not propose sooner if he had the ring in his possession. Brandon is not exactly known to be patient. The relationship continued to operate smoothly until law school graduation. Brandon had spent both summers interning in Clarksburg, so he had no job prospects in NC. Knowing this, he registered to take the WV Bar Exam in July 2019. So when the end of the school year came, Brandon once again uprooted Kailee and moved back to Clarksburg, where they would live with his parents until something came available. The newspaper offered Kailee her previous position as the education reporter, and Brandon began studying for the bar exam. This proved to be another stressful period. Let’s just say that a couple living with his parents, their three cats, the parents’ dog, and the parents’ cat is not the ideal situation. However, the couple remained patient and things started falling into place. Brandon passed the bar exam and the couple moved into the house next door to his parents. The couple now lives happily in their first home with their three wonderful cats, eagerly awaiting June 20, 2020.