Our Story

Three years ago I met the husband on a blind date, and exactly a year later he proposed! 

Obviously this day holds a special place in my heart, but I don't think I've shared either story here on the blog. Y'all hear from me all the time, so I thought it may be more fun for James to share how we met and I'll share our proposal story!

How We Met: July 14, 2011

Erin, a former coworker of mine, had been telling me about this girl she was in bible study with who I "had to meet" for weeks. She said she thought the two of us would be good together which, to this day blows my mind that she was able to see the potential chemistry between a UGA and Georgia Tech grad. I was a pretty shy guy and definitely not the type that would ever be willing to go on a blind date but something about this one made me want to go out on a limb. I also may have gotten a glimpse of her on Facebook and that may or may not have influenced my decision to ask for the 1st date. I spent hours upon hours trying to find the perfect place for the blind date and settled on Nine Street Kitchen. I waited on her in front of the restaurant and when I saw her I remember thinking "she's way out of my league." I could tell she was nervous by the way she made the intro short and sweet and immediately headed inside to find a table (I literally said "hey" and ran inside... NBD I'm just awkward like that).  All nerves seemed to settle very quickly though. We had such a great time that we closed up the restaurant that night and had to be asked to leave as they were mopping the floors. It was a great 1st day especially considering I almost stood him up. 

Our Engagment Story: July 14, 2012

I always thought I would know when the proposal was coming because my mom and sister wouldn't be able to keep the secret. They proved to me that they are much better liars then I thought! Also, my dad was in Argentina on a trip the weekend we went to Highlands, and I figured he would at least want to be in the country when I got engaged. So, with all that said, I was not expecting anything to happen that weekend.

James and I decided to go to Highlands, NC to celebrate one year together. We talked about driving to the top of Sunset Rock to watch the sunset before dinner reservations on Saturday night. This had actually been my idea, so I was never suspicious. I played right into his plan. I'm so predictable. It rained all day Saturday so I was becoming less and less thrilled about our pre-dinner plans, but James really wanted to go, so I wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it.

When you get to the top there are two paths to get onto the rock. I was super focused on one of the paths worrying about what the 20 people who were already there and had hiked up were going to think of us in our nice dinner clothes. James grabbed my hand and spun me around to the other path. In front of me was a path lined with candles. I told James we couldn’t go that way because someone had set it up for something special; he smiled and kept walking. I’ve been told I kept saying, “I’m scared." "What are we doing?" "Is this okay?” Once we followed the path onto the rock there was a small table with flowers and champagne. My first thought was that James was doing something nice since he hadn’t gotten me a card earlier for our 1 year (it was all I asked for). 

James started talking and I remember trying not to laugh because I knew he was saying nice things but I couldn't concentrate on what he was saying (he later told me what he said and it was really sweet). Then he got on one knee and asked me to marry him. I remember nodding my head, and he swears I actually said yes.

After crying and hugging we went over to a bench and he showed me a video he had made with pictures of our first year together and how he asked my parents and sister for permission to marry me! I cried through the whole thing! Then he told me to call my parents. If I wasn't crying hard enough already this really set me off. There was so much crying I could barely get words out. I told my mom we were driving home at midnight to celebrate with them (because obviously that makes sense?). 

Then I called my dad and left a message on his phone. I could barely talk. At this point I got really sad that he wasn't in the country and I couldn't talk to him :(

About five minutes later James told me to turn around and my mom, sister, and his whole family came out! Following them was my dad who had flown home early from his trip (I'm crying even now as I type this)! At the sight of him I totally lost it. I was beyond the point of the “pretty” cry! The whole thing was so much more than I ever could have imagined!