It’s no secret that I love and adore Starkville, Mississippi. This town has brought me an abundance of wisdom and blessings and one of them happens to be all of my brides and grooms that I am so very lucky to meet! Jessica is one of my Starkville brides but what makes her so special to me is that she knew me as a vet tech student before she hired me as a wedding photographer! She is to date the only one of my clients who has been able to see both sides of my life and that’s special to me! This beautiful and intelligent vet student is not just a name on my calendar to me, she’s a mentor and friend! Seeing her so happy with the love of her life, brings absolute joy to my heart! Below read all about how she and her fiancé, Daniel, met and how their love story began!

How did you meet?

I was a freshman and he was a sophomore transfer student to MSU. There was a meeting for our college for freshmen and transfer students. I was running late (of course!), and I sat in the first empty seat in the aisle in Tully auditorium. Well, that seat happened to be next to Daniel. He gave me a hard time for being late joking around with me. He saw my name on my orientation paper and said, “You’re Jessica Wilson, right?” I looked confused and said, “Yes…” He said, “You’re Taylor King’s roommate.” Very matter-of-fact. I said, “Yes… who are you? How do you know that?” He just said, “Oh a little bird told me.” I was very creeped out since he wouldn’t tell me his name or how he knew who my roommate was! Turns out, we ended up having a class together and he told me that he had known Taylor for almost their whole lives and he recognized the name. After that, we started sitting next to each other every day.

 

What has been your favorite memory together thus far?

One Valentine’s Day in undergrad, he got me a beautiful blue hydrangea plant (my favorite flower!) with a very sweet card. That evening instead of the cookie cutter Valentine’s experience, he packed up a sleeping bag, rented a movie we both had been wanting to see, chilled some wine, packed some wine glasses, and picked up a bucket of KFC fried chicken. The significance of a KFC bucket is a Wilson family tradition that we already ate KFC on Sundays at my grandmother’s house and ate pimento and cheese (homemade of course) sandwiches on white bread. He blindfolded me until we got to the hill on North Farm. All of these things he had packed and planned were then pulled out and revealed. We snuggled in the sleeping bag and watched the movie on a laptop under the stars with our wonderfully non-traditional Valentine’s dinner.

 

How did he propose?

He was SUPER nervous. I was stressed out with vet school. He was supposed to come to town that day, and showed up late. He showed up VERY strung out and said that he had a little surprise for me, but not anything big. He was super awkward and not himself.. He wasn’t saying much and seemed a little uncomfortable or pre-occupied. I kept asking him what was wrong with him. He kept lying saying he was fine! I said, “What is wrong with you? What is the surprise? You aren’t gonna propose are you?” He coolly said ,”No. It’s not a big surprise.” I believed him! Then I said, “Ok well good because I have so much going on with school.” That caused him to be even more nervous but I didn’t know! He ends up blindfolding me and driving me in a maze so I lose where we are. He ends up taking me to a cabin we had been to before in a state park. I go inside and he has a white table cloth on the table, a fire in the fireplace, and had my favorite wine with glasses and a bucket of KFC chicken (see favorite memory thus far for significance). We eat and he’s being so sweet. He had placed some blankets on the floor since it was so cold out. After dinner we sat in front of the fire snuggled up in those blankets. He just kept getting quieter and quieter (later he told me he was freaking out and worrying that I would feel the ring box in his pocket and ask what it was). He then starts talking about our future and how much he loves me. All of a sudden he throws himself down on the floor in a panic and says, “Jessica Wilson, will you marry me?” I told him “Yes!” He was so nervous he forgot to put the ring on my finger, but he was so relieved at my answer that he kept hugging me!

 

What are you most excited for on your wedding day?

To see how handsome he is and his expression when he sees me for the first time when I walk down the aisle towards our future together!