We're getting Married!

2010, Abbey and Philip started their first year at camp together, following each year within the same group into 2016 with both attending Hus School. After two weeks together, like each year post camp, the two kept in contact that eventually led into texting and calling each day. A tight friendship was developing, ‘best friends’ they would call it. Both were about to start their senior year of high school at two different schools, in two different cities, and with two seemingly separate lives and friends. One evening Abbey was with her best friend Gill, talking about how they were about to go into their senior year without dates to the homecoming dance. Gill then proceeded with, “why don’t you [Abbey] ask Philip to come with you and then him bring one of your attractive camp friends with him as mine.” After laughing off this comment, Abbey realized Gill wasn’t joking leading her to call up Philip without a second thought. Conveniently for Abbey, she also had a perfect ‘excuse’ to ask Philip to homecoming because it was also her birthday that weekend where she was inviting other friends to join. With a swift check of his football schedule, Philip accepted the offer and invited Abbey in return to his homecoming five weeks prior to hers. Gitty and filled with excitement, Abbey started to see a shift from friendship into a crush, while Philip was still completely oblivious. Fast forward through both homecomings, both started to feel this shift, and something started to bloom. After Abbey’s homecoming, sticking true to tradition, Philip joined Abbey and Gills movie night to wind down. Later that night as Abbey and Philip went their separate ways to sleep, in true Philip fashion, he picked her up to give her a hug. In that moment as both of their faces moved to look at one another, Abbey went in for a kiss while then moments later Philip came in for another. From that kiss, the rest is history. October 29th, 2017, they started dating, the greatest birthday gift to date.

In a race for seeing the last little bit of Texas Wildflower season, Philip arranged a date at the Lady Bird Wildflower Preserve in Austin, TX. As they got ready to leave, Abbey was flustered (for a reason we can’t recall) and Philip was fumbling nervously unsure where the box would fit discretely until they arrived. Abbey started to suspect, but every lead or conversation had with outside sources led her away from all her suspicions. As they arrived, Abbey (feeling extremely overdressed) in hand with Philip approached the front desk where nothing else but "Philip, go ahead" was spoken. Abbey eyebrow lifted. They continued to walk where Abbey felt as if she was in a dream, wildflowers surround them both for miles. As she wondered from one podium to the next with Philip in hand, she felt an ever so gentle but increasing pull of Philip's hand to keep going. Flustered, Abbey asked "don’t you want to look as these, I want to see it all". Philip though in his mind was on a mission and concerned for the poor photographer who had been hiding in the bushes for the past hour waiting for us to arrive. As they approached a break in the preserve, a path intersected vast fields of wildflowers, and they started to walk. It was quiet, and it seemed as if it was just the two of them for miles. Approaching a cluster of lonesome bluebonnets, Abbey stopped then looked up and spotted a field covered in Indian Blanket wildflowers. "We should go take a picture in middle of that field”; Philip mentions. As they approach a spot about 50 feet from the path, Philip begins to drop everything in his hand... (weird). He starts to fumble in his pocket expecting a ring to be in there, he feels nothing. As he started to knell, a blank stare washed over his face then in that moment a relief rush back. As Philip knelt and took Abbey by hand, he pulled out the ring and in an exchange of a few precious words, Abbey was responding with a swift nod (speechless) and excitement in her eyes.