How I met my future wife on Instagram

On Friday, June 26th, moments after the announcement that the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, I posted on Facebook the following “Well I’m getting married today before they change their mind!”  It seemed only fitting to put the announcement on social media: After all, that happens to be how me and my now-wife met.

Megan and I met on Instagram. It all began in December 2012, when I clicked through the hashtag, #LGBTShoutouts. Both of us, it turned out, had posted to the thread, hoping to get attention from an LGBT account we both followed (it doesn’t exist anymore, alas). I clicked through a picture of Megan and her tiny features immediately caught my attention. I commented on her picture, and we struck up a conversation.  After a conversation about Xbox gaming got pretty serious, she gave me her number.

Our first phone call happened on New Year’s Eve. After an incredible celebration to ring in 2013, I came home and dialed her number. Champagne-drunk friends were dancing in the next room as I locked myself away in the bathroom to talk to this mystery girl. From there, it progressed pretty quickly. We did the back and forth trips a few times to see one another in our respective cities. My job sent me to Megan’s hometown of Atlanta for a three-week training boot camp.  After that time together, Megan packed up her things and moved in with me in Memphis, Tennessee.

In November 2014, we bought our first home together in Midtown, an LGBT-friendly neighborhood in Memphis. With keys in hand, Megan proposed to me on the dining room floor before any furniture had been delivered. Too bad it wasn’t legal, at least not yet, in the state we were living in. We thought about flying to New York City or Las Vegas or somewhere in Florida to get hitched, but nothing was quite right.

But then, last week the Supreme Court made it possible for us to get hitched right where we lived. That day, I went to work like any other Friday. Megan sent me a text message that same-sex marriage is now legal in all 50 states. What were we waiting for?We decided to marry that same day in front of 100 of our closest strangers on the steps of the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center. I was in my favorite torn-up jeans and Megan wore her Planet Fitness t-shirt.  We were the fourth couple to receive a marriage license that day in Memphis, Tennessee.

I cried like I knew I would. Megan tip-toed to meet my lips during our first wedded kiss. It wasn’t a white wedding.  It wasn’t hours, days, weeks or months of planning.  There wasn’t even a cake.We used the candy heart rings we made on Valentine’s Day to seal the deal.  But it was perfect. It’s still unbelievably wonderful to me that I got to marry my best friend in my own city, in the hometown that I love. It was a day that I never thought I would see in my lifetime. Now that I have, I’ll treasure it forever.

Holly Smith is a sales and marketing badass from Tennessee, lover of all things spicy, three cats, a dog & a wife keep her crazy and a wanna-be green thumb.  You can share their story here.

Same-sex marriage is now legal in all 50 states, at last
Jimmy Kimmel asks kids to explain same-sex marriage. Just watch

[Image courtesy of author]

Filed Under