Abbie's Story

In the fall of 2015, I was starting my senior year of high school and was making plans for college and my future. I knew I wanted to go to Georgia College and study Mass Communication. Little did I know that God had a lot more planned for my senior year than just acceptance letters and graduation parties.

I was working as a server at Truett’s Grill in McDonough and Taylor was working in the back preparing the food. We started to notice each other more and took some of our breaks together. The more I saw Taylor and talked to him, I wanted to know him better. One Saturday night, Taylor and I got off of work at the same time and he walked me out to my car. We sat in the parking lot and talked for almost 2 hours. A few days later, Taylor asked me out on our first date and we went out to a Mexican restaurant for lunch. We sat and talked for 4 hours during our and I knew then that Taylor was different than any other guy. Throughout that week, we went on two more dates and Taylor officially asked me to be his girlfriend on September 12th. I had never been happier.

The first few months that we dated were amazing and we were able to be together a lot. January of 2016 rolled around, and Taylor moved to Georgia College. This was really hard for both of us because we were apart almost every day for that semester. When summer came around, Taylor was working at WinShape Camps and we again had to do long distance. Although it was hard to be away from each other, we grew closer and I knew that Taylor was special and I wanted to be with him.

Finally, I was able to start school at Georgia College and Taylor and I were able to spend most our time together again. It was fun to be together. We watched a lot of “The Office”, got a lot of fast food dinners and also cooked the occasional dinner. Some of my favorite memories are of us hanging out together and with our friends at college. We got a lot closer throughout our two years together at Georgia College and I knew Taylor was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.

Taylor’s graduation day started out pretty much how I expected it. I got up really early and got dressed in my new dress I had bought special for that day and then went to his graduation. The strap on my dress actually broke right before his graduation but luckily I had my friend there to help me fix it. After Taylor’s graduation, I went to lunch with his family and I remember kind of making fun of him for not eating anything. We then went to front campus to take pictures and I was confused when Taylor’s family stayed in the car. Taylor and I walked around front campus and went over to our favorite spot. I couldn’t tell you exactly what Taylor said but I do remember him asking me to marry him. Of course I said yes and I couldn’t be more excited to spend the rest of my life with the most amazing man!

Taylor's Story

In the early Fall of 2015, we were working at Truett’s Grill in McDonough, Georgia. I was a Sophomore in college at Georgia Perimeter College, while she was just starting her Senior year at Union Grove High School. Abbie was a server at the restaurant and I was an alley worker in the back preparing all of the orders for servers. 

We knew who each other were, but did not really know each other well at all. One night while working, we wound up having the same time off for our break during the shift. we had small talk for a little while, but I knew right then and there, that Abbie was a girl I wanted to get to know even more. Over the next couple of weeks, we both began to make sure we were taking breaks at the same time that the other one was so that we could see each other. One thing leads to another and we knew pretty quickly that there was an interest in growing. 

Our First date (not while working) was September 8, 2015, at a Mexican Restaurant in McDonough. I could not tell you what I ate for lunch that day, but I can tell you that we were there just talking for four hours. We instantly connected in a way that made me want to see her everyday outside of work. Two days later, we had our second date at Shane’s Rib Shack, and though we were not there for four hours, we loved every minute that we were able to be together. By the end of that week, she and I both knew we wanted to make it official, so I asked Abbie to be my girlfriend on September 12, 2015. It was fun to just be together, and get to know each other better. We would take trips to the park, to Waffle House, and just drives down the road to nowhere. We were 19 & 17 and life was great. (It still is today too!) 

Fast forward to January 2016. I had been accepted to Georgia College in Milledgeville, GA, and I moved down there. Abbie was still finishing up her Senior year while I was off at school. It was tough being in a long distance relationship, but we pushed through those days and did the best we could. I went home every single weekend that semester because I knew how much I wanted to spend time with her. I worked at WinShape Camps that summer and we continued our long distance stretch until the Fall of 2016. 

Abbie had also been accepted to Georgia College, and that meant long distance was over and we were together at school. It was a fun time where we learned to work off each other’s new schedule with classes and making new friends in a new town together. 

Fast forward again to Summer 2017, I had convinced Abbie to come on up to Mt. Berry and work for WinShape Camps as a Cheyenne Counselor. That Summer I was just down the hill at WinShape Camps for Boys at Mt. Berry as a program staffer on the worship team. We both were working camp that summer and it was really neat to know that we were on the same campus having the Summer of a Lifetime! We did not have our phones with us for a majority of the Summer because of Camp, and we rarely saw eachother, so we wrote each other letters throughout the whole Summer, and it was a special way to communicate. 

After camp was over, it was time to head back to Georgia College where I was working towards Graduation day to finish up college. By the point, Abbie and I had been dating two years and I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Abbie and I had talked about marriage and that we both felt the same way about it, but we knew that we wanted to both finish school first. I bought the ring in December of 2017, but needed the perfect time to propose to her. After a lot of thought, I decided that I wanted to make graduation day more about us than about myself. 

With that, I proposed to Abbie on May 12, 2018, about three hours after my college graduation on Front Campus at Georgia College, a place we both have loved. We are so excited to be getting married and spending the rest of our lives together, and we have been planning what we hope will be a very special and beautiful wedding day on June 1, 2019.