Another gorgeous wedding at LaPlaya with amazing couple!
Garrett’s and Cassie’s love story began on a winter day on January 13, 2009 at the batting cages that both frequented. It was the last Tuesday of Christmas break freshman year of college for Cassie and one of the last Tuesdays left of the winter before Garrett would have to leave for baseball with his new team. Cassie showed up to the hitting lesson looking very unbecoming with oversized dorky sweatpants, no makeup, and hair everywhere, actually saying to herself before she left the house that day “I hope I don’t see anyone I know!” During that hitting lesson, while Garrett was practicing in a neighboring cage, she and Garrett first saw each other, and after seeing her, he decided to stay at the cages for a while after he was done working out just to watch her. He thought she was naturally very beautiful, and she thought he was gorgeous. The two had a little bit of shy small talk and exchanged many glances. If love at first sight exists, this couple experienced it.
For the next 48 hours, Garrett and Cassie thought about each other a lot. That same day when Cassie came back for her final scheduled hitting lesson of the break, Garrett happened to be there again (although, she would find out later neither time was a coincidence but actually planned!)… this time spending Cassie’s entire 30 minute lesson just watching her. After she was done, he shyly asked for her phone number and in a nervous effort to hug her while not being too forward because he knew she was a good girl, did an awkward elbow rub that embarrassed himself and made Cassie melt.
Garrett texted Cassie that night to go to lunch the following day, but Cassie said no. Although she already had an incredible feeling from him, here was the twist: he was 27, she was 18. And, above all, he was an athlete, a lifestyle she had no interest in and did not want to be a part of, especially since she had family members in his line of work and decided it wasn’t for her. For those reasons, she didn’t want him to know she liked him and wasn’t going to make it easy on him – she was going to test him to make sure he was a good person with good intentions and let him know she wasn’t like other girls. If he proved that he was different, she would deal with that when the time came. He wasn’t comfortable with the age gap but already knew that Cassie was special and was going to do everything in his power to be with her. In doing so, the two talked just about every single day ALL day long and couldn’t wait for each others’ texts….for the next 6 months. They knew each other like the back of their hands and could not get each other off their minds. They knew they were meant to be, experiencing a feeling and a bond like neither of them had ever experienced with anyone else before. And, while Cassie tried to give Garrett a run for his money, she knew deep down he was a great guy and even told her roommate 4 days after their initial meeting that she was going to marry him. Garrett asked her on multiple dates, all of which Cassie declined until he asked her to lunch again in July when they would both be home and on familiar turf. Their lunch turned into dinner after they sat for 5 hours and talked about anything and everything. She knew more than ever that he was the greatest and most genuine guy she had ever met and would be worth it all. At that point, it was all over. There was no more “just friends” or fighting the age gap…they had already loved each other and knew it would be the last first date of their lives.
