We always joke that if you had told either of them back in high school that they would one day end up getting married, they probably would have laughed and thought you were crazy.

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Their story starts back in 2013. Lauren and Jay were in the same homeroom all four years of high school because both of their last names start with a “W.” They knew who each other were and had mutual friends, but somehow never actually talked. After graduation, they continued following each other on social media, but that was about the extent of it.

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Fast forward to 2024. Life brought them both back home, living with their parents just two minutes apart. While visiting Savannah, Jay was hanging out with his best friend, Galt, and Galt’s sister, Kasten, when Lauren’s name came up. Lauren had been friends with Galt in high school and knew Kasten as well, so they started catching up on what she had been up to. Galt then gave Jay the little push he needed to reach out.

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Later that day, Jay saw Lauren’s Instagram Story of her playing fetch with her dog at his old elementary school, just down the street from both of their houses, and sent her a message: “Is that Murdock?” As if he didn’t already know exactly where it was.

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The Instagram messages quickly turned into texting, and after a couple of attempts to make plans, they finally met up at the neighborhood pool—which, to this day, they still joke about being their first date. That pool day became their unofficial first date. They talked for hours, stayed until the pool was practically closing, and by the end of the night, Jay was already asking when he could see Lauren again.

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Their first official date was at Peach State Pizza, followed by a trip to a brewery. Before Jay picked her up, Lauren warned her mom that she was going on a date with a guy from high school and that he might come to the door. Her mom looked at her completely confused and said, “Lauren… that’s a good thing. That’s what gentlemen do.” Looking back, Lauren has no idea why she thought this was something she needed to warn her mom about.

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And from that first official date on, the rest is history.

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Funny how the person Lauren was in homeroom with all four years of high school and somehow never talked to ended up becoming the person she can’t imagine doing life without.