How We Met
Corey and I both grew up in the small town of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. We went to different elementary schools but met at age 12 when we moved into the junior high school. Our last names (Schraff and Sell) are next to each other in the alphabet and therefore we sat next to each other in every class, had homeroom together and our lockers were by each others. We quickly became friends and I developed a crush on him right away. Throughout the next two years we became better friends. He would tease me in class, in a flirty way, and get our classmates to call me names such as lemon head ( he insists he did this because he had a crush on me).
Whatever it was, it worked! When we were 14, at the end of our 9th grade year, our school had a social dance. We went with different people to the dance but we danced with each other the whole night. At the end of the night, as he left, he turned around and winked at me. From that point on we started dating. We dated all throughout high school and college and continued to date even when I moved to Chicago to pursue my career of being a professional ballerina. Although it wasn’t always easy being in a long distance relationship we believed in each other and continued to love each other through the good and the bad. Now we’re getting married!!
how they asked
In the 7 years we have been together, Corey and I have never had professional photos taken of us. A local photographer that I knew of was doing Christmas mini photo sessions in November of 2017. I signed Corey and I up for a session and was super excited to finally get professional photos done. I started scouring the internet for the perfect dress and obsessing over what Corey should wear too. Little did I know that after I scheduled our appointment, Corey had emailed our photographer and told her that he was going to propose during the photoshoot. During this same time I kept dropping obvious hints to Corey about how I was anxious for us to get engaged and how I was very ready for him to propose, but I never suspected that he would during our photoshoot. On November 12, 2017 we drove up to The Arboretum at Penn State University and met our photographer. We started taking pictures and getting comfortable with the photoshoot. About 20 minutes into the photoshoot, Corey turns to me, said “Jess” and got down on one knee.
I immediately started bawling because I had waited for this moment for 7 years! I don’t even remember what happened next because I was so excited to say yes! After we left our photoshoot, we pulled into a restaurant where our families were there ready to greet us with a surprise luncheon. The proposal was everything I dreamed of and more! I can’t wait to marry my best friend!
