How We Met
My fiance and I first met freshman year of college at the University of Florida. We were part of the same bible study group and over time we became friends. Because we were dating other people at the time, our relationship was very platonic. After breaking things off with my boyfriend back home, I REALLY wasn’t looking for another relationship. I figured I would wait till I graduate from college to date again. And I wasn’t attracted to anyone from school,including Andrew. It was not until the summer semester that I saw Andrew differently. Most of our mutual friends had gone away to vacation or go home, but we decided to stay and take summer classes. We ended up taking the same biology lab together and partnered up. I guess you could say we bonded over fruit flies and dissected pigs. It was that summer I realized how passionate and selfless Andrew was and by the first month of fall semester, we were dating.
how they asked
Andrew and I were nearing our 7th anniversary, and of course everyone around us was dying to know when we would get married. With him in medical school in North Carolina and myself in dental school in Florida, we decided we did not want to be married and apart. So we put it off. Flash forward to the my first semester of my last year in dental school. It was finals week and I was stressed because I not only had to study for my classes but I also had to study for my twelve hour national board exam. Andrew decided to visit right before doomsday. It was the worst timing ever and I was already going to see him the week after for his friend’s wedding, but he really wanted to go away together for a weekend. I finally convinced myself that I could use a study break, so we drove down to Orlando.
We walked around downtown and made our way to Lake Eola. It was one of our first big dates in undergrad. We sat on a bench, facing the water view, when he told me he wrote a song for me. After listening to the recording, he made me stand up and pose for a picture. He instructed me to face the water and point to the tallest building across the way. When I turned around, he was on one knee.
I knew this day was coming and I had my suspicions it was going to happen that weekend but I could not help but cry because the day had finally come. As we hugged, I could see my friends and family hiding behind the trees in the park.
I had no idea they were there but it made the proposal even more special. He even had our friend fly from California to document the perfect day.
The surprise did not stop there. We made our way to Tampa, my hometown, to celebrate with my family, but when we got home, everyone was out running errands. I was starving after the shock wore off so we decided to eat lunch on our own and celebrate with dinner as a family, but when we got to the restaurant, my family was waiting there along with even more of our friends. It was the perfect way to celebrate our engagement.
