Thomas and I first met on a lovely spring evening during our freshman year at Auburn University, on March 3rd, 2017 on Cater Lawn —ok, honestly I only know this because I still have an Alpha Gam T-shirt from that night with the date on it lol! It was our freshman spring formal “Swamp Water,” and neither one of us could’ve known that our story was about to begin.

One of my best friends, Evan (Bridesmaid) and I were dateless. To our rescue came sweet Katie (Bridesmaid) and B Daves (Groomsman), who were going together, and they made it their mission to set us up with other Sigma Nu’s as our blind dates. So now you’re likely thinking, “Aww, Thomas and Miranda first met on a blind date!” But nope, we weren’t paired together that night, Hudson (Groomsman) was my wonderful date, and Evan was set up with Thomas hahaha! We had the best time all together, and one thing I do remember thinking to myself was —"hmmm, *Thomas* has really great hair!” Hahahaha — not exactly love at first sight, but a first impression was definitely made!

After Swamp Water, Thomas and I went on to date other people — but remained friendly with one another. We’d always make a point to say ‘hey’ to each other downtown, on campus, on game days, or at Sigma Nu events.

It wasn’t until Junior year that our story truly began to take off. Thomas was just about to become Sigma Nu President and they had booked an amazing band —The Dirty Guv’nahs, to play at the fraternity house. Some of the girls & I were so pumped to attend, but upon arriving, we were informed by Thomas — that we had unfortunately been left off the guest list. And despite our sassy protests, he could not, would not, bend the damn rules to let us in! Stunned (and more than a little ticked off), I advised my girls to “come with me.” We were NOT taking ‘no’ for an answer!

After consuming some liquid courage, (lol — sorry mom) scouting the perimeter, casually entering neighboring fraternity houses, hoisting ourselves over fences, and running through backyards, we successfully found our way into Sigma Nu to see the band. We elbowed our way up to the front row, vibing with the band and when we saw “Enemy Number 1,” AKA Thomas — later that night, he said, “I’m sorry about not letting y’all in.” He must’ve secretly been impressed because not long after this night, he proceeded to ask me out on, not 1 or 2 different occasions, but 3!!!! I finally agreed to a first date—I figured he must really like me — despite my occasional sassiness.

Well, we sure did fall fast for one another. And after only 1 month of dating, Thomas and I knew we’d found our “person” and something incredibly special. Through our senior year Spring semester spending every single day together during COVID, and navigating the difficulties of 4 years of long distance. Thomas completed Law School at Tulane University in New Orleans, and I finished my master’s in television and film at the Savannah School of Art & Design - SCAD. We always made it work, fought for one another, and truly feel we are so very lucky to be on this journey together.

Finally, we cannot thank you all for loving, supporting, and always showing up for Thomas and I. We know how extremely rare it is to have such an amazing community around us! We’re beyond excited to get married on September 6th in Charleston, SC & to celebrate with our most favorite people ever — we’re so thankful you’ll make the trip for us! We love you ALL!

xoxoxo

The Future Birchfields