How We Met
In 2011, we were juniors in high school. Brendon happened to be in a class with some of my friends and because of a new class opening, they were switched into our lunch period. We sat at opposite ends of our little group, laughing and talking with everyone. This continued on for awhile until one day Brendon said, “Mary Beth, come sit yourself over here.” And for some reason, I did. From that point on, we became very close friends. We discovered our mutual love for missions, spicy food, and all things Disney. Our friendship slowly but steadily grew into our love story.
how they asked
In August of 2015, Brendon and I both moved from our small town in the Panhandle to Orlando, FL. We were both pursuing our education and work experience and while it was a difficult transition being away from our families, we were also able to take advantage of our annual passes to Disney World. I went to work at a financial planning office as a receptionist. This firm is very good at what they do and they often have conferences or meetings in extravagant locations. In October, I stopped by my office manager’s desk as usual to check in and see what I needed to do that day. We had our typical chat until she casually said, “Oh, hey. I guess you might want to come to this and it would be a good time for us to meet your fiance’!” She handed me a scrolled invitation that said our office was invited to a luncheon provided by one of their affiliated companies in Cinderella’s castle. Of course I was SO excited and I was just hoping that Brendon would be off work and that he would be able to come, too. I texted him about it and he said that his schedule was clear. During that week, my coworkers were chatting about the luncheon and on Friday, many of them told me they would see me tomorrow. When that Saturday came around, Brendon was running late (typical) and I was stressed to no end (also typical). My office manager told me that everyone would be meeting by the castle, but once we got into Magic Kingdom, Brendon wouldn’t let me go to the restaurant entrance. He kept reassuring me that this is where everyone was meeting. I was getting frustrated because he had never even met these people before much less talked to them to discuss where we were gathering! We waited a few minutes and finally, he suggested we get a picture in front of the castle since we had never taken one before. I reluctantly agreed and we began to pose for the Disney photographer. The photographer seemed to really like this one pose that required us to stare at our hands and we awkwardly obliged for what seemed like forever. Finally, he said we were done and when I turned around to head toward the castle, all of my family and Brendon’s family were behind us holding up the cutest signs that read “Will You Marry Me?”
I instantly began to cry and turned back toward Brendon where he was down on one knee. He had pulled off the most incredible surprise of getting our families to drive down for this incredible day! The rest of the day was a blur of taking pictures, admiring my ring, and a fabulous dinner at the Grand Floridian Resort. Everyone was so worried I would be upset that we weren’t actually eating in the castle, but it was the most magical day of my life. We got to start our Happily Ever After at the Happiest Place on Earth!
