Hannah Wilkie, Braden Beck to wed
Chad and Shelly Wilkie of Lexington are thrilled to announce the engagement of their daughter, Hannah Marie, to Mr. Braden Beck, fine son of Bryan and Carolyn Beck, also of Lexington.
The bride-elect, a resident of Rock Hill, is the granddaughter of Jerry and Patricia Wilkie, Graham Houghten Sr., and Wayne and Joyce Russ. After completing the majority of her undergraduate career at Winthrop University, she attends York Technical College and will graduate in December with an associate degree in early care and education.
The bridegroom-elect resides in Savannah, Georgia, and is the grandson of Jerry D. and Susan Beck and Joyce Standish. He attends the Savannah College of Art & Design, where he is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in interactive design and game development.
Hannah and Braden met for the first time in 7th grade at Pleasant Hill Middle School, where they both applies to the yearbook staff. Braden was the only boy in the class and felt quite outnumbered and overwhelmed. All of the girls flirted with Braden constantly – except for Hannah. Braden had a crush on Hannah but she wasn’t interested and didn’t notice, so the two become good friends.
Over time, things changed. In 10th grade at Lexington High School, Hannah found out that Braden would be in her English class and saved a seat for him. Hannah was quite surprised when she saw Braden again for the first time in more than a year; he had grown up a lot. Braden and Hannah instantly rekindled their friendship and developed feelings for one another while blind to what the other was feeling.
After a school field trip to the Biltmore House, where their peers picked on them because they all knew what Braden and Hannah didn’t, Hannah decided that enough was enough and she was going to tell Braden that she liked him. Braden was surprised when he received her text message and later told Hannah that he tripped walking up the stairs when he first read it. The two teenagers continued to get to know one another as friends until their first date, months later, when Braden took Hannah to the movies and told her afterward that he was in love with her.
Hannah and Braden graduated from Lexington High in 2014.
They got engaged Feb. 28 at Forsyth Park in Savannah, Georgia. After attending church that morning, Braden and Hannah went to the park to read their Bibles together. Braden was giddy and distracted before beginning to propose through prayer and finishing proposing as he got on one knee, while Hannah sat on the park bench ecstatic to be experiencing the moment that they had both dreamed of since they were 16.
The couple plans a December wedding at Table Rock State Park.
This story was originally published November 6, 2016 at 12:01 AM with the headline "Hannah Wilkie, Braden Beck to wed."