There’s a saying: “Never miss a Sunday show.” The idea is that Sunday night might be the best of your favorite band’s run, and staying home guarantees you’ll miss the song you’ve been chasing and typically a hell of a show.

That might be true most of the time, but the most important show of my life didn’t happen on a Sunday. It was a Thursday night in October 2020, at a small Atlanta venue for a band most people haven’t heard of, and I almost skipped it.

At the time, I was in full workaholic mode, putting in long hours 6 months into the pandemic doing the audit life. I had bought tickets months before with my friends Jake, Tyler, Meghan, and Porter for one of our first socially distanced concerts since the pandemic. But that Thursday night, I was still hunched over my keyboard like a corporate shrimp and telling myself maybe I should just stay home.

Eventually, I decided I’d go, but I’d drive instead of Uber, skip the drinks, and keep it low key. Against all odds, I landed a parking spot right in front of the venue which turned out to be exactly where fate needed me.

After a night of Andy Frasco chaos, our group spilled out of the venue and started recapping the show. I looked across the parking lot toward my old Mazda3 and saw a girl leaning or depending on which friend of mine you ask, dancing against it.

I walked over and told her this was the best my car had ever looked. She smiled, and we started talking, quickly realizing we’d been at the same show a year earlier at the Earl. Before she left, her friend Grace yelled, “Get his number!” and for the record, I wasn’t leaving without hers. That girl was Shannon.

She went to Nashville with friends that weekend, but a week later we had our first date at Victory over some Whiskey Coke Slushies, where I got my first glimpse of the wonderful, kind, magnetic person she is.

A few months in, we decided to take a road trip to Cocoa Beach for an eight hour drive that flew by as we talked about everything under the sun. That weekend, aided by a tequila shot sent from his home office and facetime from our friend Joel, a couple hours later I asked Shannon to be my girlfriend and she said yes. Two months later, over tacos and a Talking Heads cover band, we told each other “I love you.” The taco she saved for after the show in the purse from Little Rey definitely helped but was just one of a hundred of reasons I’d fallen for Shannon.

Since then, we’ve had adventures from Indianapolis for the Dawgs, seven Taylor Swift albums, visits to Costa Rica, Mexico, Colombia, eaten our way through Decatur oyster bars and every taco imaginable, and most importantly taken the trip to New Orleans where I got on one knee asking Shannon for her hand in marriage and she said yes making me the happiest I had ever been.

Every step has been an adventure. And now, our favorite one yet, saying “I do” here in Blue Ridge with all of you. Looking back, I’m just glad I didn’t skip that Thursday night show. Because it brought me to this moment, with Shannon, surrounded by the people we love most.

We are so excited for you all to share this special day with us and can’t wait to celebrate!

-Justin