Their Love Story Began When He Asked for a Pencil

When Anna Johnson and Trivante Bloodman first met at Mississippi State in January 2013, he seemed eager to strike up a conversation with her. She was a little apprehensive.

The two, then sophomores, did engage in some small talk after he took the seat next to her in class. “We didn’t exchange names or anything, he just asked for a pencil,” Ms. Johnson recalled.

But she said, “I knew he was going to try to talk to me, so after class was over I went in the hallway and I called my mom like, ‘Mom, this guy’s been trying to talk to me.’ But I guess I took too long, so he walked away.”

They bumped into each other the next day at a basketball game, and then again at a nightclub the day after that. “We’ve literally been together since then,” Ms. Johnson said.

The pair started dating in August 2013. In February 2015, they had a daughter, Aubree.

“I saw how she was as a mom, and seeing how she is as a parent made me want her to the tenth power,” Mr. Bloodman said.

“I never thought in life I’d be with somebody for this long of a period,” he added. “Every day just got better and better and it was a feeling that I couldn’t just ignore. I was like, ‘Dang, I might actually be with her like, forever.’”

Ms. Johnson said she knew Mr. Bloodman was the one when she saw his caring nature. “He really is that person that’s a good friend to all his friends, the best sibling to all his siblings,” she said. “He’s just all-around a good person, and I think what attracted me to him the most out of everything is that he’s just always that person that’s looking out for people.”

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The pair, now both 28, graduated from Mississippi State in 2015. Mr. Bloodman has a bachelor’s degree in business management. Ms. Johnson earned both a bachelor’s degree in human sciences and a master’s degree in human resource management at the same time.

Nodding to the place they fell in love, Mr. Bloodman got down on one knee the night of Ms. Johnson’s graduation in December 2015 at one of her favorite restaurants. He chose this moment because Ms. Johnson’s friends and family were already in town to celebrate her.

“I was so nervous,” Mr. Bloodman said. “I had a whole speech, I had everything set up, and I went blank. I almost didn’t know what finger to put the ring on.”

After she said yes, the couple moved with Aubree to Loganville, Ga. Ms. Johnson now works as a staffing specialist at the Axiom Staffing Group and Mr. Bloodman owns a moving company, TB Moving Services. They had a second daughter, Journee, in July 2017.

Ms. Johnson and Mr. Bloodman were married on Sept. 18 at Venue 92 in Woodstock, Ga., with around 180 of their friends and family, including Aubree, 6, and Journee, 4. The ceremony was officiated by Melinda Guess, who was ordained for the event by the Universal Life Church.

“It was just a party from start to finish,” Ms. Johnson said. “I feel like our people really just needed that.”

“I wish the world could have been at that wedding,” Mr. Bloodman said. “It was lit.”

Looking back, Ms. Johnson said, “We’ve evolved so much just in our 20s, so imagine how we’re going to be in our 30s or 40s. It’s just a really good feeling to know you have that person in this chaotic world.”