How We Met
Brantley and I met almost 10 years ago in college at The University of Alabama. We were introduced by mutual friends and we hit it off immediately. We had both recently gotten out of serious relationships, and so the timing just didn’t seem right to jump into another relationship so we kept in touch occasionally as friends for almost 2 years. Fast forward those two years and I had moved back to Birmingham, but was in town with friends for the weekend for a football game and ran into one of his friends while out.
Unbeknownst to me, his friend had called him and told him I was in town, and he showed up at the location I was at and we have been together ever since. I moved back to Tuscaloosa and we eventually moved in together, bought our first house together, and got our sweet chocolate lab, Annie. We have been together now for 7 years and have taken our time building our relationship with a strong foundation of love and respect. It is finally our time!
How They Asked
Family is very important to both of us, and Brantley really wanted both families involved when he proposed. Since the pandemic, he was finding it hard to plan something that both sides could be involved in while keeping everyone safe and socially distanced since we do not live near either side of our families. Finally, he said he didn’t want to wait any longer and enlisted the help of just my mom and sister. He has always told me that he never wanted to propose on a holiday (Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc) so I was not expecting a proposal on Christmas Eve. He told me he had to work on Christmas Eve, and since I didn’t want to be alone all day I decided to drive up to see my parents and sister.
When I got to my parent’s house, my mom was very upset that she didn’t get a Christmas card out this year, and asked if my sister and I would take a picture together so she could send out a New Years’ card. She had secretly bought this dress that I had been wanting for a while for the occasion. My sister and I went to take some pictures at our local library because they have a really pretty patio overlooking a wooded area. We took some “fake” pictures for a few minutes and then Brantley rounded the corner and surprised me. I thought he was still working back in Tuscaloosa. He then proposed and it was perfect and special and a complete surprise. He proposed with a ring that was designed with stones used from his mother and grandmother’s personal jewelry collection.
We went back to my parent’s house and had a small celebration in the driveway to keep everyone distanced.
