Freshman year. Typical fraternity boy meets sorority girl at a party. Jackson comes up and flirts, pretending to be with me to intercept a drunk, sweaty guy making unwelcome moves. A gentleman! I played hard to get and gave Jackson a cold shoulder. Big regret! Fast forward to the 2016 Iron Bowl when Peyton, my little sister, was in town. In the upper bowl during the game, Peyton pointed out a boy a few rows back hollering and stomping on the bleachers cheering on the Tide and she said, “That’s the type of fun guy I would be friends with in college,” and mentioned how much he reminded her of what our dad would have been like at that age. I laughed and recounted the night Jackson and I met at that party and thought nothing of it. He was really cute, though! Jump to the SEC Championship game against Florida the December of our freshman year. Jackson and I sat next to each other at the Phi Delt house during the game. I remembered him from the party where we first met and from the Iron Bowl, but really didn't think he remembered me. Turns out he did! I was the "girl with the blue shirt and ponytail that blew me off." We both left the Phi Delt house that evening smitten and asking our mutual friends about the other. After Christmas break, we both asked each other to the first date parties of the year. We spent that entire spring semester going to date parties together, grabbing bites to eat (shoutout to Buffalo Phil's for being our first actual date spot), watching movies, meeting on the Quad in between classes (my favorite memory, Jackson's least favorite) and getting to know each other. Me, being the chill person that I am, asked Jackson to come meet my parents for breakfast at Rama Jama's while they were in town for Chi O Parent's Weekend early March of our freshman year. I'm still surprised he didn't run for the hills - meeting the parents before we were even officially dating?! He's always been a trooper. Before heading back to Mobile and Brenham for the summer, Jackson officially asked me to be his girlfriend in the iconic Tutwiler girl’s dorm as he was helping me move out. That summer was the first of many long distance stretches, but almost six years later those smitten freshman kids are finally getting married!

The proposal was a long time coming. As soon as I got my first real job out of college I started saving up to buy a ring. After we both moved to Birmingham in 2021, I knew we were ready to take the next step. I've always wanted it to be just the two of us alone when I proposed so that we could enjoy the moment together. When it came time to plan, I phoned a friend (my mom) and asked about how she got engaged to my dad and we talked about the logistics of where and how I'd ask Whitney to marry me. I decided to propose on Dauphin Island at the same spot we've been going to on the beach for years. It was March, so I knew it would be secluded on the West End and we'd have the stretch of sand to ourselves. Easy! Now the tricky part - getting family to the beach. Whitney's mom was about to have her kidney transplant and I was worried she wouldn't be able to travel. After clearing it with her doctors, the plan was made and everything started falling into place. My parents generously rented a house on Dauphin Island for our family to spend a long weekend together, which turned out to be perfect. Whitney never suspected a thing about a long weekend at the beach or the trip I took to Atlanta to design the ring, aka to visit my friend, Eric. The day of! A stressful day indeed. We woke up a little early to get the boat packed. I needed to hide the ring somewhere on the boat that she wouldn't find. I made a sketchy hand off of the ring to my brothers so they could hide it in the dry box as I distracted Whitney. The hard part was over. The plan was in place. Or so I thought. I still had zero idea what I was going to say. For the last five years I've wanted to propose to Whitney, yet I waited until hours before to think of the words. I thought of everything else that day and had everyone on a schedule down to the minute, but I was too nervous to think of the words to say to her. Finally, we were on the water headed to the same secluded beach we’ve been going to for years. After a choppy 15 minute boat ride, we arrived at our spot. Little did I know there would be fish washed up on the beach... every 10 yards there was a dead redfish. I thought the perfect day was ruined. We putted around and found an area where we couldn’t smell the washed up fish anymore. After a couple laughs we were at our place, relaxing in the sun, drinking beers, having the best day. For the next 3 hours I was thinking only about our time as a couple and how I could summarize that into a few words when I got down on one knee.  The fourth quarter was here and I knew everyone was waiting for us at the house. Just before sunset, I snuck back onto the boat while adjusting the anchor, grabbed the ring and sat down on the cooler next to her. I asked her to play her favorite song (thought I made myself suspicious by asking that), but Whitney, being stubborn, said she had no song suggestions. After asking again with still no answer, I put on Frank Sinatra, her favorite, and asked her to dance with me. About halfway through "That's Life," I spun her around and got down on one knee. I then told her how much I loved her and how much she meant to me. After all that time thinking about my words, I kept it simple and just tried to get the words out because I was so nervous. After a little crying and some hops, she said yes! And I will remember those few minutes we had together immediately after for the rest of my life. We headed back to be home by sundown and I asked her not to call anyone until we saw my family to tell them the news. I didn't want her to spoil the next surprise! We rode the boat home and Whitney was still clueless about her family being there. I parked the boat and we started the walk up to the house. Everyone was out on the balcony cheering for us. About halfway to the house, she saw her dad, mom and sister and started crying. It was very special. We spent the evening and the rest of the weekend celebrating what's to come and we'll never forget it.