Laura Mann & Gabriel Valk

November 7, 2020

As fate would have it, Laura and Gabe found themselves in the same Human Resources Management class during their spring semester at Clemson in 2017. Gabe managed to sit closer to Laura with each class, and after some prodding from his friends, he finally worked up the nerve to ask her on a date. Three-and-a-half years of dating later, Gabe planned a ruse to get Laura back to Clemson. He claimed his fraternity had scheduled an alumni event the same weekend that some of Laura’s college friends were going to be in town for a bridal shower she was attending. The bridal shower was real, but everything else was staged for his proposal at The Potter’s Place in Central. After Laura gave Gabe her enthusiastic “yes!” they celebrated with some 50 friends. Their ceremony took place at Gassaway Mansion, where before taking their vows, they shared communion with all of their guests. It was a day filled with love and prayer, exactly as they intended. Based in Greenville, Laura is a media buyer, and Gabe works at Elliott Davis.