KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — When Kelsey Henegar started her first job at the Knoxville Center Mall, her expectations weren't very high. After all, she was just taking photos of kids and the Easter Bunny.
"I never would have thought that I would have gone to my first job and met my future husband," Henegar said.
But, that's exactly what happened. She and Justin Henegar, who was one of the Easter Bunny's helpers, will celebrate their first anniversary next year.
"People ask all the time about how we met," Kelsey Henegar said. "I say, 'through the Easter Bunny at East Towne.'"
In October, East Towne Mall announced it would be closing its doors for good. Shortly after, an auction site listing an assortment of items from the mall popped up.
"We saw that they had an auction going for the Knoxville Center Mall," Justin's mom Nancy Borden said. "We just happened to see the Easter display, that was where they first met and thought it would be a great idea."
She and her husband Bobby started bidding on the display. For just $130, they were able to take home the entire set: tea pot, benches, bunnies and all.
On Christmas Eve, Nancy and Bobby spent hours putting it all together. Their extended family gathered as they waited for Justin and Kelsey to show up.
At first, the couple appeared slightly horrified. Then, the memories started to sink in.
"He was the bunny, and I was behind the camera," Kelsey Henegar said. "He brought me a lemonade, and it was just meant to be."
Justin Henegar still remembers trying to work up the courage to ask her out.
"I had to get the nervousness out because a lot of guys will see a cute girl and they're like, 'I don't know if she'll be in to me,'" he said. "But I was going to shoot my shot, and that's just always something that's a favorite memory to me."
While the Henegars probably won't keep all of the Easter display, they already have some ideas. Kelsey is a special education teacher and plans to use the over-sized pinwheels and bench for her classroom.
The Boldens said they might let their church use the display for Easter pictures, or host a charity event in their backyard.
Regardless, it's something they will all treasure forever.
"We're literally going to have a piece of [East Towne] that has been used for generations," Justin Henegar said. "That's cool."
"We can set it up one day in the future for our grandkids and be like 'guess what? This is where I met grandpa,'" Kelsey Henegar said.