How we met: Meagan and I had gone to the same middle school since 6th grade, but it wasn’t until 8th grade that either of us really noticed the other. It all started when I replied to one of Meagan’s really long and cheesy MySpace bulletins (those were the days…). Once we became aware of each other’s existence, we realized we had a couple of classes together. From there, we turned into your typical middle school crush. We stayed up almost every night till 2AM on AIM talking about all sorts of things. Being young middle schoolers, we both had this crazy dream of one day marrying each other, once Meagan was allowed to actually date someone of course. 8th grade came and went and nothing ever happened between us. In fact, the last time we had actually hung out was when I walked her home on the last day of school down a short path next to our middle school. We both went off to different high schools, staying in touch all throughout 9th and 10th grade (with the occasional flirting and homecoming dances). Still, nothing ever became of it. Around 11th grade we eventually lost contact with one another for a few years. Finally, over the summer of 2013, we reconnected and finally did what we both knew we had wanted to do all along: started dating one another.
how they asked: I had known since I was 13 that Meagan was special and I knew within a month of us dating that she was the one that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. One of the things I knew about Meagan was that she absolutely loved surprises. So, I knew if I was going to propose to her that it would have to be in a way, an ultimate surprise. That is why on the two month anniversary of us dating, I gave her an envelope as a gift. There was one catch with the envelope: she had to wait 3 years to open it. Needless to say, she was pretty antsy.
However, after around 2 years I knew that I wasn’t gonna be able to wait an extra year for her to open that envelope. So I changed the date on her envelope to September 13th, 2014. On that day, she opened the envelope only to find a bunch of other small multi-colored envelopes. Each one contained a special surprise that we got to do that day. We started the day off with breakfast, we went to a place called Piccasso’s Palette where we got to paint our own mugs (she has an obsession with drinking out of mugs), and then she went and picked out a dress at her favorite clothing store to get ready for that night.
While she was out shopping, I quickly went over to where we first met: our middle school. I had blown up a bunch of pictures from different areas of our life from all the way back to the 8th grade. Things like our first picture together, our first homecoming dance, when we started our own wedding videography business (Unveiling Media), and even a photo from our first date. I put them on small sticks and set them up all along the path that I walked her home down on the last day of middle school. Next to each picture I placed a daisy. I had invited around a dozen of our closest friends to be there for this special event. The plan was to pick up Meagan at the beginning of the path and walk her down just like on the last day of middle school. Along the way we would take a look back at all of the significant moments in our lives together. Once the time came, Meagan arrived at the beginning of the path (under the guidance of the envelopes) and we proceeded to take a walk down “memory lane.” After each picture I would pick the daisy up and give it to her.
At the end of the path Meagan finally got to open the final envelope. As she opened the final one and read it, I dropped down on one knee and asked the girl of my dreams to marry me, and luckily she said yes! What we had once joked about in middle school is finally becoming a reality and we couldn’t be happier.
Photo by Trevor + Allison