Erin Kemp, Aaron Mayes to wed
Ms. Catherine Amick Kemp and Mr. Abbott Neal Kemp, both of Columbia, are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Erin Ashleigh Kemp, to Aaron Ross Mayes, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Albert (Kay Haltiwanger) Mayes Jr. of Blythewood.
The bride-elect, a resident of Columbia, is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lewie Elmer (Mildred Claire Rush) Amick Jr. of Greenwood and Mrs. Miriam Roberts Kemp and the late Edward Harvey Kemp Jr. of Jackson, Mississippi. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia, and she is employed with the University of South Carolina’s athletics business office.
The bridegroom-elect, a resident of Columbia, is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. James Osborn (Beth Dorrah) Haltiwanger of Silverstreet and the late Mr. and Mrs. James Albert (Harriett Maddox) Mayes Sr. of Newberry. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in secondary education from Presbyterian College, where he was a four-year letterman on the football team. He is employed with the Kershaw County School District as a history teacher and girls’ varsity soccer coach at Camden High School.
The couple plan a December wedding in Columbia.
In their own words
Q: How did you meet?
Both: Growing up in Northeast Columbia and attending Northeast Presbyterian Church, there were plenty of opportunities for us to meet. (Ironically, there’s a picture from our fifth-grade confirmation class of me standing in front of him in the same place we will wed in December.) We always knew of each other, but it took until the summer after our freshman year of college and the help of our younger siblings, who were friends, for us to officially meet. One of our siblings – I won’t say who – found it difficult to adjust after their year of freedom from us while we were away at college and suggested we hang out instead of annoying them. We’ve been friends ever since!
Q: When did you know your fiance was “the one”?
Aaron: I knew my fiancee was the one after about six months of the two of us trekking back and forth between Columbia and Atlanta on the weekends. Long distance was something we were both skeptical about, but we realized that the driving was a small sacrifice if it became a lifelong relationship.
Q: Tell us about the proposal.
Erin: Post-college at the University of Georgia, I moved to Atlanta to begin my career, while Aaron moved back to Columbia after graduating from PC to teach high school government, economics and history and become the varsity girls’ soccer coach. After a friendship of many years, we ran out of excuses to our friends as why we weren’t dating already. After two and a half years of long distance, we finally had enough of the weekend drives on I-20, and I moved back to Columbia. Six months after moving to Columbia, Aaron planned a weekend trip to go back to Atlanta and see some of our friends. After spending the weekend eating at our favorite restaurants and seeing our favorite people, Aaron proposed. He had secretly worked with my friends to plan a surprise engagement party after proposing, and both of our families came for it as well!