Hi! I’m Emily, a 2022 bride doing most of the wedding work myself and on a budget. I will be bringing wedding content to you every week from now until I run out of things to talk about. I thought an appropriate place to start this series would be the abbreviated history of my and Bailey’s relationship thus far. Heavy on the ‘abbreviated’, there’s 7 years to work through.
In the Beginning…
Bailey and I met when we were 18 a couple weeks before high school graduation. We were introduced by mutual friends at a theatre production put on by the drama department at his high school. The connection was almost instant. I was very keen on getting to know him better after our first meeting and as it turns out, he was too. We met for the first time on a Friday evening and our mutual friend orchestrated a time for us to hang out again Sunday afternoon. I don’t remember what we talked about but I remember being able to tell then, Bailey was not like other boys I had had crushes on before. He was easy to talk to, respectful, and SO kind. A couple weeks later, we graduated from our respective high schools and were able to attend each other’s ceremonies. Over that summer, we saw each other nearly every day. Bailey was (is?) the first and only boyfriend I’ve ever had.
Through College
At the end of that summer we had to face the reality of me moving an hour and a half away to attend college and Bailey staying home to attend the local community college. A couple weeks before my move in date, we talked about if we were going to break up because of my moving but both said we would rather stay together. I call the college years a ”mid-distance relationship”. We saw each other almost every weekend. I look back on all of our memories fondly and feel blessed we were able to share so many experiences. From football games, sorority events, and day trips to the mountains. Life was good with relatively few responsibilities. I am so grateful to have had such a strong supporter in my life through a time with so many changes. Bailey was my constant in the never-ending swirl of change that college throws at you.
My Texas Move
Moving to Texas came wayyyy out of left field. I never thought I would move to the Dallas area. Bailey and I, knowing we wanted to get married then, had never talked much about moving. I am not one to look adventure straight on and say ”nah, I’ll pass”. Now in hindsight it was so clearly a God thing. The Dallas area is full of opportunities that are not available to us in the rural area of South Carolina we are from.
This move was our first go at a true long distance relationship. I am so thankful we live in an age of technology so Bailey and I could stay connected with calls, texts, and FaceTimes! And while it was hard a lot of days, I knew our relationship we had built thus far was worth it. Of course, this made the times we did see each other in person very special. Hey! You can even read some on those times as they were happening. I wrote ”Day Date in Dallas” in 2018 when Bailey was able to visit me and we celebrated our 4th anniversary! In those first 7 months I made it back to South Carolina to visit twice, and Bailey came out to Texas twice too!
Bailey’s Texas Move
After a few conversations about where we saw our lives headed and the opportunities available, Bailey made the move to Texas in October of 2018. We were thrilled to be about 30 minuets apart from each other again instead of a 3 hour plane ride. With Bailey here we resumed our once or twice a week visits and got to do some really cool things like see Ed Sheeren in concert!
My Career Change and Resuming Long Distance
In February of 2019 I was hired to be a flight attendant with a major airline. In training I learned I would be sent to the Boston base. I cried. Three times. Then I told Bailey and he cried. Well, got misty eyed, ya know. We both knew what an incredible opportunity this was for not just me, but both of us. (Heyyyy free flights home to SC.) Bailey did ask if I was wanting him to move again, this time to Boston and I said, ”heck no, I don’t even want to live there!” If you follow me on Instagram, you saw how that whole situation panned out in real time. I was going back and forth between Dallas and Boston as often as I could to spend time with Bailey.
The next 2 years were crazy times as they were for everyone. Between commuting for work just shy of a year, the start of COVID, and getting furloughed, Bailey and I saw each other through it all. In 2021, I was called back to work and back to Boston. Another round of long distance ensued for 6 more months. But, it was during this time we got engaged!
The Engagement
We planned for Bailey to come up to Boston to celebrate our 7th anniversary. He booked a room and I planned activities. It was such a fun long weekend of being able to show Bailey around! We selected a nice seafood restaurant for dinner the night of our actual anniversary, June 7. People always ask, ”did you expect it?” and I have to say, I had an idea. The biggest tip off being Bailey sent me money to get my nails done a day or 2 before he came.
There we are, winding down at dinner, and I mention needing to go to the bathroom. Bailey stops me and says ”well, before you do that I have to ask you something” gets down on one knee and asks me to marry him. It was the easiest ‘yes’ I have ever said! The wait staff was amazing and took a video for us from a corner, and the tables around us clapped. Something really special was 2 different married couples came to our table to congratulate us, and give us little pieces of advice that have worked for them in their marriages.
That brings us to now! I am back in Texas full time, Bailey just moved in to the new apartment that I will also move in to after we get married, and we are planning this wedding!
This was such a fun post to write and take myself back down memory lane. If you’re still with me, I promise the other ”Wedding Wednesday” posts will be more practical advice types, but I thought this was a natural and sweet place to start.
Thank you so much for reading, it really means a lot to me. Until next time, stay fab! Xoxo,
