Thank you for following along with my love story with Jason. We have gone through how we met and meeting the family. Now it’s the moment you have all been waiting for. The proposal story! This is my very favorite question to ask my couples when I meet the to talk about wedding photography. I’m excited to share my proposal story with you. Did I suspect it was coming? Did he keep it a surprise? Was it romantic? You will soon find out!

Valentine’s Day is one of the most popular holidays for marriage engagements. I was in my last semester of college and Valentines was approaching. Jason and I had looked at engagement rings, so I thought something special was coming my way. When Valentine’s came and went, I was honestly disappointed. There wasn’t an elaborate gift and my left hand was still very empty.

The next Sunday afternoon, Jason and I went through our normal routine of going to church, grabbing lunch with my family and heading back to our college campus. Or so I thought. We stopped at my parents house and everyone was insistent that we go on a walk because it was such a nice day. And of course, as I do with surprises, I started to buck the system and question everything. I reluctantly agreed to go on a walk in the middle of February.

I don’t recall what was discussed or how I felt or if Jason was acting funny. As we approached a part of the walking path that was hidden by large pine trees I saw pops of red, pink and white. My first thought was, “Oh that’s nice, Jason got me something else for Valentine’s Day!”  We got closer and closer to realize that the flowers sitting on the bench were also scattered all over the path. There were hundreds of rose petals! Then it hit me that something special was about to take place. And then my thoughts were as scattered as the rose petals. My hearing tuned in and out.

Jason prepared a nice speech that included phrases like, “you’re beautiful”, “I love you” and I’m sure a lot of other meaningful things that I couldn’t comprehend in the moment. I was on cloud 9 somewhere. His words became clear again as he go down on one knee. He opened the ring box. He asked if I would marry him.

Jason said I finally came out of my stupor and smiled and said yes. We hugged and kissed and he slid the sparkly ring on my finger.

As I was coming out of my unconscious state, I could hear a familiar sound coming from a distance, a camera shutter! Jason knew that this was something I wanted documented, moment by moment. And I’m so glad his photographer friend was there to capture it!

Another familiar face was close by. I saw these white sneakers sticking out of the pine trees around the corner. It was my grandma! She helped Jason set up the flowers but didn’t know where to go afterward. She didn’t want to run into us on our walk so she decided to hide in the trees! It was so special to have her part of the moment.

Afterward we went back to a very excited group of family members. I remember calling some of my best friends to tell them the news as soon as possible. In the midst of all of this, I was concerned about a group project and test I had the next day. Thankfully my classmates and professor were understanding. College life. Jason and I headed to dinner to celebrate. He graciously shared his speech with me again so I could hear what kind words he prepared.

The next morning, I got a text from my oldest sister saying, “How does it feel that you have a fiance to marry and wedding to plan?” She was right! It was official! All of the long anticipated wedding planning was about to commence!

Thanks Jeff Stinson for taking our surprise proposal pictures!

Read Part 7: Wedding Planning! Or if you’re new here, start over at Part 1: How We Met