Emily Abernathy & Brooks Haley: A Hoover Wedding

June 1, 2019

How You Met: Brooks and I (Emily) both graduated in the class of 2014 from Hoover High School, and although we had similar friend groups, we had never had a conversation. He went off to Troy University, and I went to Mississippi State University after graduation. Brooks decided to transfer from Troy to MSU after his freshman year to pursue an engineering degree. One of our mutual friends convinced him to reach out to me so he could come visit the campus before he transferred in the fall. We decided to meet up and grab dinner while we were both home for Easter. We sat at Taco Mama for hours that night sharing stories and laughing about how crazy it was that we never met before. One date led to two, and by the time Brooks transferred to Mississippi State he was off the market!

The Proposal: On our very first date, Brooks took me to Kings Chair at Oak Mountain State Park and every year after we went back to Kings Chair whenever we were home for a break. Brooks planned a seemingly normal Kings Chair trip for one Wednesday afternoon when we both got home from school for Christmas break. However, in the days leading up to our date, it rained every single day. Brooks decided hiking up a mountain would not be the best idea so he took me to the waterfall at Oak Mountain State Park instead.

Favorite Moment: Our pastor surprised us by telling us to turn around and face our guests. He told us to look around, take it all in, and enjoy celebrating with all of the people who traveled near and far to witness this special moment. He told us to take a mental snapshot and to take a deep breath and remember the significance of the day. We will never forget seeing all of our loved ones smiling and celebrating with us, and although the day can be a bit of a blur I am so thankful we had that moment to take it all in.

What You Are Doing Now: Brooks is working at RJ Mechanical as a project engineer, and I am working at Warren Averett as an audit associate. We have a 1-year-old Golden Retriever named Kamper who keeps us busy, and we are just enjoying exploring all of the fun things Birmingham has to offer.