Corey & Sarah
June 20, 2026
How We Met
Corey and Sarah met on Hinge — although knowing Corey, he might tell you it could just as easily have been the hinge aisle at Home Depot, where Sarah was clearly in search of quality husband material.
Corey remembers the first moment he saw Sarah in the Walmart parking lot. She was stunning, and he was instantly nervous — though he did his best not to show it. In fact, Sarah might say he played it so cool that it seemed like he wasn't interested in her at all.
Between shared laughs, missing the sunset at the top of the mountain, and driving through Suck Creek, Tennessee, just to visit the Suck Creek Convenience Store, the afternoon unfolded in a fun, easy, and unforgettable way. As it turns out, missing sunsets would become a theme in their story.
They had two more dates that weekend. And while driving home after the second one, Sarah distinctly remembers saying to God that even if he wasn't the one He had for her, she was thankful that there were still men like Corey Payne in the world.
It was the kind of weekend that feels special even before you know how much it will mean. What started as a message on an app became the beginning of a beautiful, imperfect, but God-written love story with His grace and mercy evident on every page.
The Proposal
Corey brought Sarah back to Weathington Park in Section, AL — the place they had missed yet another sunset on a date and the place they had spent the afternoon together when he told her he loved her for the first time (at a gas station, as the story goes) — with one goal: propose at sunset.
The weather had other plans. Dark clouds rolled in, lightning danced on the horizon, and it turned into a storm-filled evening. Another missed sunset. But God held off the rain until Corey was able to get down on one knee and propose.
When he started to rise, Sarah stopped him — "Get back down, I haven't answered yet!" — and then, instead of yes, she said "I do."
To top it off, a secret photographer had been arranged — who, thanks to the storm, could barely get a shot in the dark and gloom. So the two of them reenacted the whole thing.
Even though it wasn't a picture-perfect sunset proposal, they believe it was another beautiful picture of God's faithfulness and protection throughout each of their lives — and a reminder that when things don't go according to our plans or timeline, it doesn't mean God isn't in it or at work.
“But God…”
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 2:4–7
Join Us
We are beyond excited to celebrate our wedding day surrounded by the people we love most. We cannot wait to see you there.