Wedding Date on Jun 9, 2022

In Katy's own words: Nolan and I met in 2019 just three months before graduating from the University of Florida. I was sitting near my living room window when I noticed this man walking down my apartment complex hallway. He was tall, had reddish-brown hair and impeccable calf muscles. He was carrying a small package with this pep in his step and the biggest smile on his face. I was instantly intrigued. I couldn’t stop looking at him. I could sense this goodness and innocence from him even through my window. I thought to myself “who is this guy...?” I wanted to meet him, but didn’t have the courage or time to do it. So I swept it under the rug and focused on finishing my last semester of college on a strong note. A couple months go by and I couldn’t stop thinking about this cute package guy walking down the hall. It was a few days after Valentine’s Day and I was definitely feeling my singleness after five years of not being in a relationship, so I called my mom and asked her what I should do. She told me, “Honey, why don’t you look up those random holidays online and bake your neighbors some cookies; he’s got to be close by.” I obliged and pulled out my laptop. The day was February 17th: National Random Acts of Kindness Day. It was perfect. I got all my supplies and began baking away. I placed the cookies in some sandwich bags and nervously wrote little notes on each bag. Now it was time to deliver. My heart was bursting with anticipation. I took a deep breath and knocked on the first door. No answer. Then I went to the second one. No answer. The third. Again, no answer. Then came the fourth and final door, apartment 127, the one right next to mine. Expecting no answer, the door opens... and there he was. The cute package guy. I did that slow pan up his body and finally met eyes with him. He had the most warm and welcoming brown eyes - my weakness. It’s totally cliché, I know, but the moment he said “hi” in that shy, awkward voice, I knew. I knew he was the one. My intuition was so sure that I immediately called my mom in tears telling her I found my future husband. And funnily enough, she knew too. The next day passes, I'm sitting in my room doing schoolwork and I hear a knock at the front door. My roommate answers and then comes to knock on mine. She gave me that look of excitement and said, “Katy, you have someone at the door for you.” My heart literally skipped a beat. I run to the door and there he was, holding a plate of homemade lemon bars. And let me tell you, those were the best darn lemon bars I’d ever had. For weeks after I was overwhelmed with joy and excitement, yet overtaken by a sense a calmness. I knew things would fall into place when the time was right. Fast forward a month and we go on our first date at the local botanical garden. We walked around, took in the flowers and foliage, then came across a swinging bench. We ended up sitting there for five hours just talking. Little did we know, on our next handful of dates, everywhere we went had a swinging bench. I thought, “Okay, what the heck is going on,” but we both kinda knew our first little tradition had just been born. We didn’t have our first kiss until our third or fourth date. He invited me over to make his mother’s key lime pie recipe. The main playlist: John Mayer. It was a perfect, lighthearted night. We (un)successfully made our first dessert together, he played his acoustic guitar for me and we watched his favorite show, QVC. No joke, we watched QVC for fun and analyzed every product. He had a thing for Kim Gravel at the time. *Sigh* he’s such a nerd. It was then time to say goodnight. He walked me to my door. I could feel the nervousness radiating from him. I remained calm, thinking it was okay if he ended up choosing not to do it that night. And then right when I look down, he goes in for the kill. I’ve gotta be honest, it was the fastest, most forceful kiss I’d ever had. He pulled away immediately, let out the biggest smile and giggle, then ran away. He literally ran away. I stood there in disbelief with the leftover pie in my hands. I yelled “Wait! Nolan, come back! I want a hug.” So he walked back and embraced me. I could tell he was embarrassed. All I did was whisper to him how special he was to me. I think that calmed his nerves. And that is how our love story started... It’s crazy to think we went from sharing a wall, to me being his first kiss, first girlfriend and now forever love all because of some cookies, lemon bars, swinging benches and the best motherly advice. I am so beyond thrilled to marry my cute boy next door.