How We Met
We met at church! … and it was not love at first sight. In fact, I once said, “I will NEVER DATE that boy.” … now, here I am almost two years later getting ready to marry him and I couldn’t be happier.
It all started with an impromptu trip to Disney after work on a random Tuesday in May of 2018 when I realized we were both Annual Passholders and I had sarcastically expressed that I was so desperate to use my pass that I’d practically go with anyone. He took the bait, and the rest is history….
Because we were coworkers, we kept our talking and dating stages pretty LOWKEY before going public and making things official on July 20, 2018.
Disney became a REGULAR part of our relationship. We went to the Magic Kingdom the first time we ever hung out, and to EPCOT on the second time (where I so classily dropped a whole scoop of ice cream …. and then caught it in the palm of my hands. He wasn’t scared away, so I knew he must like me.)
After three weeks of solely platonically hanging out, Disney Springs was where he took me on our first date. It was one of those situations where he mentioned he should take me to this gelato place, and I slyly responded with, “are you asking me on a date?” So did he ask me out, or did I ask him out? You decide. That night in May, it was on the ferry dock that he first told me he LIKED ME and that his intentions were to pursue me. A few months later, he brought me back to the same dock to ask me to be his girlfriend!
We knew pretty early on into our dating that we were made for each other, although he was more vocal about his determination to marry me…. and I? Well, I was trying to stick to the slow-and-steady “timeline” I had so strictly ingrained in my head.
Last Christmas I brought Brian to South Florida to meet my family, and as I was sitting with my aunt on the couch, she pointed at him from across the room and said, “you’re going to marry that man one day.” I smiled, because I knew it too, but again, the TIMELINE!
When 2019 first started, I asked Brian what his New Year’s resolution was… he said: “I’m a one-goal-at-a-time kind of guy, and my only goal for the year is to propose to you.” My eyes got wide as I blushed at his forwardness.
Flash forward to December 23, he made his 2019 goal a reality (and made me the happiest girl in the world)!
How They Asked
It was December 23, 2019, when he asked me to marry him.
He took me to a tiny bridge at Lake Eola (where we once talked the night away and first shared a sweet moment during the early days of our dating relationship). Once we got to the bridge that night, he asked, “do you remember this bridge,” to which I responded, “of course” as we reminisced on the first time I ever laid my head on his shoulder #WePGHere.
He then told me, “there’s something that happened that night that I never told you about,” and then began to confess that, even though we weren’t even “official” yet at the time, it was that very night on the bridge where the thought, “I can marry this girl,” first crossed his mind.
Then he said, “there’s something else though…” and left me hanging as his voice trailed off. I asked “what?” as he knelt down on one knee and opened a ring box to the most beautiful ring I’d ever laid eyes on. As he prepared to put it on me, I laughed and said, “I think you’re supposed to ask me a question,” and then he laughed and said, “will you marry me?” Of course, I said YES!
Next thing you know, I hear a faint voice in the distance ask, “are ya’ll engaged yet?” as my sister, Pastor, and roommate popped out from a shadowy area. Confetti poppers were activated and some Martinelli Cider in an “I’m engaged, DUH,” mug was placed in my hand as our little entourage cheered & snapped pics!
Then they told us they’d see me at the restaurant, as I was quickly whisked away to meet up with our photographer! That’s when it really hit me and I started to tear up.
So, here we are 660+ days since God first started writing our love story on March 4, 2018 (the origin story is another explanation for another day 😭 ❤️) and #ENGAGED in His timing!
