How We Met
Brett and I met through a mutual friend and Instagram. He followed me on Instagram, and I noticed we had a mutual friend so I messaged her to make sure he wasn’t a creeper, and she told me she had gone to school with him from Kindergarten all through high school and he was super nice, so I followed him back. We started messaging and went on our first date about a week later.
There was an instant connection and chemistry – we were immediately comfortable with each other and started dating not long after that first date. Living an hour and a half away from each other was a hurdle, but one we overcame easily by alternating weekend visits to Mobile and Hattiesburg.
how they asked
On June 15, I traveled to Hattiesburg to spend the weekend with Brett. He had been planning a special dinner for us to celebrate half a year together, and I was so excited – I love getting all dressed up and we both love good food. We had to leave by 2:30, so I got there a little early and we both changed into nice outfits for dinner- Brett had been begging me to wear a certain dress all week and I would soon find out why. He had kept the location of our special dinner a secret – I only knew it was out of town and a bit of a drive.
We started our drive and Brett mentioned that Molly, one of the Lieutenants who had gone through ROTC with him and who is engaged to be married next Spring, knew where we were going and had asked him to check out a local venue for her engagement party while we were in the area. I, of course, was fine with this and asked if when we got there if I could look around. Brett told me no, and I was really confused but also sleepy from riding in the car so I let it go without much fuss.
We kept stopping at gas stations along the way for Brett to “go to the bathroom,” which I later found out were times when he was connecting with the photographers and confirming that everything was ready for us to arrive at the venue.
It took us a little bit to find the venue, and I was starting to get hungry on top of being very sleepy from riding around, so when we arrived I was pretty focused on how soon we would get to eat and not on much else, so I didn’t even notice Brett grab the ring box out of the truck door. I was fully convinced the proposal was not going to happen that weekend because I had gotten suspicious of Brett being so picky about what my nails and hair would look like and what dress I would wear throughout the week, so I had called him out on it when he Facetimed me the night before. He told me he hadn’t even talked to my dad yet, which had me completely convinced it wasn’t happening. He had also asked me to keep the night of my birthday open on our trip to Paris in the fall, and I was pretty sure he would propose there.
When we pulled up to the venue, Brett told me to wait in the truck until he found the lady who was going to show us the property, then he would come, get me. I was cool with this, so he goes into the venue which was a beautiful barn, and he was gone for a few minutes. At this point, my mind was running full speed – what if he had tricked me and was actually proposing? I put on some lipstick *just in case* but I was still convinced it wasn’t happening. He sent me a text that said “Come here baby,” so I got out of the truck and as I started to walk toward the doors, the song “Marry Me” by Train began to play.
I was still trying to convince myself it wasn’t happening because I didn’t want to be disappointed – I even thought that maybe the venue owner was just trying to show us the atmosphere by playing music, but I knew that wasn’t the case and any doubts I had completely faded as I opened the door and not one, but two photographers captured my shock and surprise. (Thank you Refuge Photography for capturing our special moments!) It really WAS happening.
Brett was standing in the middle of the venue underneath a draped arch surrounded by flower petals and photos of us. All I could say was “Oh my gosh” over and over and I had to stand still until I gathered myself because I was shaking from joy and surprise. I finally made it over to where Brett was, and he looked at me and said: “I had a whole lot of things to say, but I know I’m not going to make it through that, so I have one question.” Then he dropped to one knee and asked: “Will you marry me?” It was the easiest and most joyful “yes” I have ever given.
We hugged for what felt like five minutes, and then I remembered the ring. “Can I have the ring now?” I asked, and both Brett and the photographers laughed. We took some more photos and finally went to dinner at a sweet little restaurant in Gulfport called The Chimneys—and we got a free pie to celebrate!
I later found out Brett had actually talked to my parents a few weeks before and had been collaborating with my little sister all week – which explained his strange behavior and her brushing it off every time I would rant about not wanting to wear that certain dress or why he was worried about my nail color. Pretty much everyone knew except me! It was the perfect surprise and the most perfect proposal – every little detail was so perfectly planned. My ring was custom made by Carter’s Jewelry in Petal MS in rose gold and is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
From the twinkle lights to the pink and white flower petals, to the photos of us from all the fun weekends we have spent together, Brett put so much thought into making the proposal perfectly “us”. There was even a small lettered sign that said “I’ll be with you every step of the way” which is an important phrase to us because Brett is in the Army, and I gave him his combat boots with this phrase. I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect proposal or a more perfect man to spend the rest of my life with—he is my very best friend!
