We're getting married!

We initially met at Fellowship pre-school in Greensboro, NC. We knew each other all through middle and high school through similar friend groups. While in our freshman year of college, Abby had a club soccer tournament at NC State, where we reconnected after high school. We began spending more time together that spring, and after many drives between Greenville and Raleigh, we started dating in May of 2018.

We began looking at rings in January 2024, and by April the ring was at home in Greensboro. The only obstacle remaining to get engaged being space, I was in Eugene, Oregon and didn't envision myself proposing so far from home. During the season, Abby and I (mostly Abby) planned our first vacation together after 6+ years of dating to Iceland and the Netherlands. I knew I wanted to be engaged before the vacation, and had around 3 weeks from the end of my season to the trip, so I had to plan rather hastily. When Abby and I first started talking about what a marriage between us would look like a few years into dating, she had an entire list of requirements for a proposal: 1. It had to be at Disney world in front of the castle 2. There must be a photographer present to capture the moment 3. Her nails must be done properly. However, as years 4-6 of dating went on these requirements began to fade away to my delight as organizing all these in 3 weeks was not going to be feasible in our circumstances. During the process of talking to both Abby and my parents, I learned that both of our fathers proposed to our mothers at home, in private, and spent time with friends later that evening. I felt this method of proposing to Abby would be perfect since neither of us are overly flashy, nor wanted the attention of a public engagement. With the help of my parents and our amazing group of friends, I was able to organize a dinner at Seasons 52 in Raleigh, NC to surprise Abby. On September 25th, 2024 I tried to keep everything as normal as possible to not throw Abby onto the scent that I would be proposing that day. I went and trained at the facility in Greenville, while Abby went out to work out as well. We reconvened about lunchtime and went out to run some errands before a dinner at Ninos in Greenville (Abby's favorite restaurant in town) to celebrate the beginning of the off-season. By the time we got back from errands, my window of time to propose before getting ready and driving was dwindling, so I quickly put Rosie outside and went to the extra bedroom to get the ring, while Abby was laying in the other room singing. I came in, and got down on one knee and Abby had no idea what was happening, at first saying no before realizing what I was telling her. I wish I could tell you what I said, but I totally blacked out, and my first memory was her and I sitting on the bed looking at the ring while Rosie barked like a maniac begging to be let inside. Now, I wish I could tell you that she was completely surprised by the ring being in the house the whole time I had been home, and that our family and friends were there to surprise us in Raleigh. HOWEVER, I had gone to Charleston, SC the previous weekend to celebrate a birthday, and almost immediately Abby and Rosie went searching for the ring in the house. What I thought was a good hiding spot inside a jacket in a drawer, inside a room we never go in was no match for the hunting dog. She swears she didn't open the box and spoil the surprise of what the ring looked like, but she knew it was coming soon. As for dinner, I had to tell Abby we were not going to dinner in Greenville, but instead in Raleigh with our parents to celebrate. On the drive to Raleigh, Abby interrogated me and quickly named all 18 people she expected to be at dinner when we arrived... she nailed every single person, pretty impressive in my opinion. -Cameron