It takes family and friends to unite them, but pair finds true love
By Staff
Leada Gore, Hartselle Enquirer
It’s not often you hear love stories that involve chips and salsa.
But those two things - along with what they both describe as “divine intervention - that brought Jessica Woodruff of Hartselle and Chance Higdon of Danville together. The young couple are planning a May 10 wedding. It wouldn’t be happening, however, if it wasn’t for a chain of events that led to love.
The story starts on a Sunday about a year ago. Higdon, who said he normally eats at a local steakhouse after church, opted for Mexican instead. It just so happened that Woodruff was dining at the same restaurant.
The pretty brunette across the restaurant caught Higdon’s eye, too, but he was wary. He was looking for a special girl, not just someone to hang out with.
“I’m really hard to please and I don’t go out looking for girls. I just knew if I waited on the Lord, he would bring one to me,” Higdon said. “Then, I looked over and she bowed her head and blessed her food..”
That was a sign. While sitting in the restaurant, Higdon called a friend from Hartselle and asked if he knew of such a girl. It turned out the friend’s wife knew Woodruff. Since she’d left the restaurant it now became a matter of tracking her down. The effort to unite Higdon and Woodruff soon became a group effort.
A friend of Higdon’s dad contacted Woodruff’s dad, Russell, and got some information. Then, a family friend, Nancy Busby of Hartselle, gets a phone number for Higdon to call. It turns out that number is Woodruff’s mother, Charlene, who was working at the Hartselle Area of Chamber of Commerce.
Their first date was at Sonic in Hartselle, but, like their meeting, was a group affair.
From there, love followed a more predictable path. They even experienced the proverbial flat tire on their first real date.
The couple had been dating for about seven months before Higdon popped the question. He knew Woodruff was expecting it, but he still wanted to surprise her. He carried the ring around for two weeks before opting to pull a trick on the unsuspecting Woodruff.
Higdon, who has chicken houses in Cullman, told his girlfriend if she’s help with the birds, they could go shopping for rings afterwards. Then, while she was working, he slipped the sparkler under a new white bucket. She picked it up, found the ring and slipped it on her finger.
Now, the couple is planning a big wedding at West Hartselle Baptist Church. The reception will be at Hartselle Civic Center, complete with a wedding party of 20.
Through it all, Higdon said there’s no doubt they are doing the right thing.
