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Our History

Even though we've been dating for eight years or so, Buddy and I have actually known each other for even longer. Here are just a few of the connections we share from our childhoods…

Mrs. Brunick's (now Bailey) son…

Growing up in a relatively small town, it was inevitable that my and Buddy's paths would cross at some point. That first intersection came in the third grade when, unbeknownst to me, I was assigned to Buddy's Mom's classroom (she was then known as Mrs. Brunick).

I vaguely recall Mrs. Brunick having a son, but he was a fourth-grader at Allen Park Elementary at the time, so we never saw too much of each other. But, even before Buddy and I started dating, I would always tell people that my favorite teacher of all time was my third grade one, Mrs. Brunick.

My best friend from across the street…

If you read about my bridesmaids, then you know that Cathy Dupree-McWhorter was my best friend from across the street at my Mom's house. Cathy's family and Buddy's family have a long history together. Cathy's Mom (Terri, who was like a second-mother to me growing up) and Buddy's Dad worked together at the Anheuser Busch distributorship, and Terri and Geanne were great friends.

Cathy and Buddy have notoriously bathed together as kids, and Cathy has always thought of Buddy as a sort of brother.

Growing up, I was always competing with this girl named Meghan

Martin (Buddy's older sister) for the right to be Cathy's best friend. And, on a couple of occasions, Terri would drop Cathy and me off at Geanne's house when she had some errands to run.

During our days at FMHS, Cathy would give Buddy rides home from school, while I sat silently in the back, like the shy, nerdy underclassmen I was.

How We Met

So, we'd known of each other for a long time, but Buddy and I didn't actually really meet until college.

It was one of the first weekends that I spent in Gainesville as an incoming Freshman and all of the #1307 roommates decided to go out to our first college club…The Gruv (that's right, g-r-U-v). When we got there, we noticed some friends from high school, and with them was this tall guy that looked a lot like Mrs. Brunick's son. After ripping up the dance floor for a while we all went outside for some air and Buddy recognized me and introduced himself. We ended dancing until closing time. At the end of the evening, Buddy said goodnight by kissing my hand. He may or may not have been inebriated at the time, but all the same it was very romantic.

It may sound clichéd but the attraction was, instantaneous. We went on our first date the following week when he took me to Café Gardens for a quick bite between classes. I think we both knew, from early on, that there was a connection there, and I guess we were right.

The Proposal

Seven years in the making, the proposal still shocked me to no end.

Buddy thought of everything. He picked out an amazing ring, asked my Mom's permission, and ran the plan past Emily and Molly to make sure it would work. He even spoke with my office to get me an extra night off… all of this behind my back, and without me finding out.

Upon embarking on a two-week road trip where we visited friends and family from Florida to Michigan and back, Buddy decided to stop in Gainesville for some dinner. He asked me where I wanted to go, and naturally I said, “Sonny's BBQ.” Surprisingly, he vetoed that idea — I should have known something was amiss right then and there. He had a better plan, but he wouldn't tell me what it was. We drove through campus, talking about our old dorm rooms and football games. And when we turned into the small driveway off of University Ave, I knew we were going back to Café Gardens, the site of our first date, but it still hadn't sunk in as to why.

We sat at a small table in the outdoor courtyard, and it was a surprisingly cool night for August in central Florida. As we ate our gourmet chicken sandwiches with sweet potato fries, Buddy started reminiscing about our favorite Gainesville memories… the time we found Kitty Mocho, the trip to the LSU game, late nights at Marston Science Library… and then he told me I had forgotten the most important one. Deeply involved in trying to figure out the right answer, I hardly noticed Buddy fidgeting with his cargo pocket. In the middle of me rattling off random memories, Buddy finally produced a small wooden box.

I don't entirely recall the next few minutes, but it went something like this:

“I can't believe you don't remember our most important Gainesville moment — the time that I proposed to you at Café Gardens.”

He then dropped to one knee, and asked, “Will you marry me?” Completely shocked, I apparently responded with, “Are you serious?” But there was a “yes” and kissing and crying soon thereafter.

The proposal was made even better by the road trip that followed, we got to celebrate in person with all of our friends and family, and we got a lot of free meals out of it too.

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