Avery & I first met during his freshman year of high school in 2013. We had the same theatre class and even though I was a junior, we somehow managed to become friends and eventually found our way to sitting next to each other during class. I teased Avery and called him "church boy" because every time I asked what his plans were for the day or weekend, the answer was always "church" for some reason. In my heart I knew, he had the kindest soul just based on his answer and the sweetest smile that always followed. At the time, I had a boyfriend (I know, I know, how dare I) but was so drawn to him, that we ended up sneaking off on a date to Yogurtland one day and he lied to his mom (sorry Janice) that he was going out with some football friends. But, clearly, God knew he was the one because here we are now.

After the friendly high school date, nothing ever came about. Eventually, I graduated and continued on with life as did he. We always kept up with each other on social media. Always hyping each other up, congratulating one another on life's accomplishments, but never anything flirty. It took Avery a few times to ask me on dates until I finally agreed based on the condition it would only be to catch up on all the years and rekindle a friendship. We agreed to meet at HG Supply Co. and catch up over mimosas... turned to mimosa carafes... PLURAL. When he first arrived I remember thinking "this man is not a freshman anymore, MY GOD" but of course, I had to maintain a poker face. After three carafes of mimosas, a free uber drive (thanks Alex), and a terrible hangover, we decided we never wanted to stop hanging out with each other again.

Our very good friends say, if something does not go bad before the proposal, is it even meant to be? A few months into dating, Avery booked us a trip to Seattle, Washington where I had once mentioned I wanted to visit. The first night there, our flight was delayed three hours, and our Airbnb host fell asleep causing us to not be able to stay the night there and be chased by a homeless lady in the streets of Seattle all happening during the glorious hours of 2 AM. That night I cried and wanted to board a flight right back home, but Avery promised the rest of the trip would be worth it and boy did he deliver. We rented an Airbnb cabin in the middle of the woods in Ashford, Washington. I was getting ready for a photo session we had booked and rushing (as always) meanwhile Avery was sneakily finalizing the proposal details with our photographer. Did I mention they were talking for MONTHS before the trip to coordinate everything? When I finally rushed outside to meet our photographer, he led me down a trail of white roses that stopped at an LED sign in my favorite color that read "Will you marry me?"