Love is in the air in February! Thank you to each and every couple who shared their stories of meeting their spouses, their engagement stories, and where they are now! We also ran a Date Night contest recently in conjunction with our special Valentine’s feature. The winner of the Date Night dinner to Koestler Prime is __________! Congratulations and we hope you have a wonderful night out together!

Alexandra and Carter met through mutual friends while in college. Alexandra's roommate and her boyfriends encouraged Alexandra to invite their friend from high school (Carter) to a date party. The two actually did not speak the entire date party but as soon as it ended, Alexandra and Carter shared about their lives, their families and their dreams for hours! They told Stroll Bridgewater, "We knew we had found the one that night!" The two dated for four years, got engaged last December, and were just married in January! 

Ron and Laura started dating while they were in high school. The two stayed together and attended separate colleges. Ron proposed to Laura at his parents' lake house in their hometown of Yazoo City and they married in June of 2004. After almost 20 years of marriage, the couple has three children - Will (17), Livie (15), and Charlotte (13). 

Denise and Pete met on a blind date in college. Matchmaker, Crazy Hazel, was a mutual friend of their parents. The couple dated their sophomore and junior years of college and married just before starting their final year. The next eight years included four years of medical school together and four years of residency. After 13 years of marriage, a beautiful baby girl was born and joyfully changed Denise and Pete's lives. In July of this year, Denise and Pete will celebrate their 44th wedding anniversary! They told us, "We are so thankful for God’s many blessings in our lives." 

Toodie and Larry Jones of Green Glades have been married for 52 years! The couple met on a blind date in Columbus, Mississippi, 56 years ago. Today, they are proud parents of three grown daughters and seven grandchildren!

Paige and Larry Stowe of Herons Lane met on a blind date set up by a mutual friend and shared an instant connection. They got lost in conversation, and the waiter had to politely ask them to leave because the restaurant was closing! Both had previously lost their spouses to cancer. When Larry got ready to propose, with the help of his two daughters and Paige's two daughters, he wrote an engagement poem. One night while they were all six out to dinner, Larry surprised Paige with the poem and asked her to marry him! "There was not a dry eye!" The couple has been married now for 29 years, the girls are all married, and they have nine grandchildren.

Bebe and John Sumner have lived in Bridgewater for three years and have been married for 32 years. The couple met on a blind date where they ate dinner at Bill’s Greek Tavern and went bowling at Larwil Lanes in Jackson. They dated for six months and got engaged in New Orleans. Bebe and John got married in Batesville, Mississippi, on July 20, 1991.  They have one daughter Shelby Dye (Gary) and one son Bryan. 

"Brad and I met while I was working in Louisiana. Brad was living in Kansas City but was sent by his employer, Price Waterhouse, to audit my employer. He was only in town for two months and he asked me to dinner during that time. He returned to Kansas City but we kept in touch. My best friend and I planned a trip to Belize, and Brad commented he'd love to take a trip there! We had a guy friend who wanted to go and would need a roommate - Brad called the next day and said he was getting his passport! When the day arrived to meet at the New Orleans airport, I was really nervous because I had not seen him in a year! In reality, I had nothing to fear and we had a great time together, and we knew that we wanted to continue seeing each other. After ten months of the flying back and forth, Brad arranged a surprise engagement! I arrived at Antoine's restaurant thinking I was meeting Brad and friends, and the matradee escorted me to our "party"...a horse-drawn carriage with Brad! On our ride, he proposed, and I said 'yes!' We had an amazing dinner at Antoine's and returned back to my parents house via Rolls Royce. Our friends secretly filmed the whole thing from the rooftop! We've been married for 29 years this April!"

Jamie and Bryan Clay have lived in their Hidden Creek Drive home for 1 1/2 years and love the location and their neighbors! They have been married for 35 years. Jamie shared with Stroll Bridgewater..."We met in the 9th grade in high school. We remained good friends through high school (Jackson Prep) and college, and eventually started dating our Junior year at Ole Miss. I asked him to Chi O formal, and he told me he had to work. So, he asked me to Santa Claus The Movie, and we have been together ever since!" They have 3 grown children Reed, Matthew (Allie) and Kelsey.