How We Met
Luke and I “officially” met at a bonfire in October of 2014 that neither of us was planning on going to! That fall night, we spent the evening talking about everything, it seemed… especially our mutual love for photography. I’d owned a business as a lifestyle and wedding photographer since I was a sophomore in high school, and it turned out Luke had always loved photography, as well! So of course, we hit it off right away! When it was time for me to leave that night, Luke asked me on a date to a pumpkin patch with a few friends the very next weekend. I said yes, of course!!
Fast forward to the next weekend… We won a race through a corn maze at that pumpkin patch, ate pizza for dinner, carved a pumpkin to look like an owl, and watched a movie with some friends. It was the most perfect night!
Our second official date was the next Friday night, at what’s come to be known as “our spot.” Luke surprised me and set up the most beautiful picnic! He’d thought of everything… candles, music and my favorite food all set up on a picnic table at Lake Bloomington. We even went stargazing!
By this point, we both were a little smitten, and we knew we had something special. In early November, we officially began dating, and we became best friends over the months we’ve spent together and the many adventures we’ve had so far. We now even run a photography business TOGETHER, which is so fun because photography is something that brought us together in the first place!
how they asked
On August 2nd, 2015, I woke up expecting a typical Sunday! We’d shot a wedding the day before, so I was tired and ready to relax! I remember stopping for some caffeine at Starbucks before meeting Luke for church, and the whole morning seemed normal!
Around lunchtime, Luke told me he had special dinner plans for that night, and that we should dress up! He treats me super well and with so much love all the time that I truly didn’t expect anything out of the ordinary. He also told me that he had to do something secret for the whole afternoon, and that he’d pick me up for dinner. I finally convinced him to admit he was photographing a proposal for friends of ours… and I was so excited to find out who it was!! It turned out that WE were the ones getting engaged, and Luke was setting up for our proposal that afternoon instead. I took the afternoon to go for a run, do my nails randomly (thank goodness!), and call one of my best friends for outfit advice. The best part? She had no clue about the proposal, but advised me to dress like I’d want to be dressed if I was getting engaged! I laughed it off, but her advice led me to wear one of my favorite dresses that night.
When I finally met up with Luke again, he blindfolded me so I wouldn’t know where we were going for our surprise dinner! I could tell he was excited, but I thought he was just happy from photographing a friend’s proposal. He kept my blindfold on until he was ready to lead me to the most adorably set picnic table… at the same spot we had our first date, and have come SO many times together throughout our relationship! He had saved candles from our first date, set out delicious food, and even had our song playing in the background.
It finally hit me that we were getting engaged, and I was in complete shock. I don’t remember everything Luke said before he proposed, but I felt so loved in that moment and I was over the moon excited when Luke got down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him! He had even handmade my ring box out of beautiful wood… I adore it. Of course, I said yes!!!
We were too excited to eat much dinner, so he suggested that we go tell my parents the fun news! When we pulled in to my parents’ house, there were more cars in the driveway than usual… all our nearby family was there to celebrate with us! We took pictures, ate yummy dessert, and then, Luke gave me one of the most treasured gifts I’ll ever receive: a handmade, wooden box full of journals he’d written to his future wife. He had written to his future wife for 983 days before the day he proposed to me. Those 983 journal entries are something I’ll cherish having forever, and they are SUCH an incredible gift to me!
Our proposal as incredibly special and priceless to me in so many ways! I cannot wait to marry my best friend next month!