Preschool sweethearts reconnect, marry and recreate their 'first date' photo
A newlywed couple who have known each other since they were in preschool were able to recreate a photo from their "first date" thanks to the groom's mom.
Austin Tatman and Natalie Crowe Tatman met as 4-year-olds in pre-K in Ocala, Florida. They instantly connected.
But when she was 5, Natalie's family moved to Connecticut. Years later, Natalie was looking through an address book of her mom's and found the name of Austin's family. Now teens, Natalie found Austin on Facebook and a romance was born.
The couple, now both 24, were married on April 13, 2019 in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
"During the wedding planning process, Austin and I had made a trip up to his parents’ house and we were trying to find images that we could display at the wedding to show our story," Natalie told "Good Morning America."
"As we shuffled through his mom’s scrapbook collection from the 90’s, we found an entire section dedicated to our friendship. On one page, the photo of us in the red Jeep had a text box beside it that said 'Austin took Natalie on their first date.' When we found this picture, we instantly knew we had to find a way to get our hands on a red Jeep Wrangler as our getaway car."
Though the couple don't own a red Jeep, they were able to rent one for their big day.
"Although Austin and I haven’t spent our entire lives together, there’s something about knowing someone for that long that creates a stronger connection between us," Natalie told "GMA." "We just have such a strong bond and I think that can be accredited to us having childhood memories and memories that we’ve built since we reconnected."
Having the photos from their young friendship helps too.
"Our most prominent memory is the last day we saw each other before I moved to Connecticut,” Natalie said. “We spent the day together at Austin’s house making Rice Krispie treats. We both remember sharing the spoon and licking what was left of the ‘batter.’”
“Our parents have shared with us memories that we don’t necessarily remember, like how Austin would hold my hand in the car when we went somewhere together and that one night he told his mom that 'Natalie looked so beautiful today.' Truthfully, we just remember always being together no matter the situation."
