It was the summer of 2017 when Jake (23) or Stormi (21) added the other on "people you may know" on Snapchat. I say "or" because neither of them remembers who it was that added the other. Nonetheless, because they had a mutual friend on Snapchat, the app recognized that they may know each other. They, in fact, did not know each other. (For reference, Snapchat is an app that allows users to send photos with text on them.)
They grew up going to schools in the same county, and Stormi had even been to a party in high school at Jake's parent's house, but Jake wasn't there. They had never met but they did know of each other.
Over the summer, they continued to "Snap" until Jake asked Stormi to go see a Travis Tritt concert in Tyler. Even though she had heard good things about Jake (thanks to Vic Bishop) she still wanted to meet him before going on a date that was over an hour away. So, she asked him to come out to the country club where she was bartending to meet her the Friday before the date. He obliged, and they ended up being the last two people at the bar and talking through the night —like you do when you meet someone special. They remember as Stormi was cleaning up the bar, Jake offered to take the trash out for her. Little did he know he would be taking out the trash for her for the rest of his life.
The next night, 7/28/2017, the two went to a very intimate Travis Tritt concert that was BYOB. They recall that you could walk right up to the front of the stage—and they did. Stormi, being a big fan of live music and Travis Tritt, admits it was the best first date she's ever been on.
A month later (August 2017), as Stormi went back to college for her senior year, the two agreed, without explicitly stating it, that they didn't want to try long-distance. So, without saying it, they went their separate ways.
Fast forward a year, in August of 2018, they were both still single and had started snapping again. They saw each other at a few golf tournaments, and then Jake asked Stormi to come on his 25th birthday trip to float the Guadalupe River and watch Whiskey Myers at Whitewater. Stormi was out of town visiting her friend, her MOH Alex, in College Station but decided to drive over that Saturday to watch the concert on the river. She arrived and made her way into the "pit" at the front of the stage with 200+ people packed shoulder to shoulder and told Jake she was there. To her surprise, within a few minutes, Jake found her in the packed crowd. They floated the river the next day and drove back to Dallas together, but they still weren't sure if they wanted to make the relationship official.
A month later in late September (9/28/2018), Stormi was going to visit some of her best friends in Northwest Arkansas to see Lynyrd Synyrd at the Amp and visit the Bikes, Blues, & BBQ Festival. She asked Jake at 6 AM the Friday morning, the day of the concert, if he wanted to go with her. He was pulling into work, but after seeing her message, dropped everything and turned around, went and packed a bag, drove to Northeast Texas and then drove them to Northwest Arkansas to see Stormi's friends (who he had never met) and see the concert. This trip remains one of the highlights of their relationship and is when they really won each other over. A special shoutout to Gabby and Andrew for being their hosts for that perfect weekend!
Six years to the day following that trip, Jake (31) and Stormi (28) will say "I do"—hence the significance of 9/28/2024. They are beyond excited to add to the memories of this special date, surrounded by cherished family and friends, making their wedding day an unforgettable celebration.