Charlie and I met in December of 2020. He was the light at the end of the tunnel for me after a crazy year of unknowns during the Covid lockdown. Charlie came out of nowhere and it has been an adventure ever since! We had dinner at Bamboo Hibachi in Niceville, Florida and it went so well that Charlie asked me on a second date. The funny thing is, Charlie asked me to get ice cream after and I politely declined because I had to "clean." Turns out, we talked for three hours and closed down Bamboo! I let my stubbornness show that night and still declined ice cream after dinner. Two days later, my friends talked me into inviting Charlie to our New Year's Eve party in Destin. It took a lot of nudging to hit send on a text to invite this boy I had been on one date with to a New Year's Eve party with my best friends and sister, but that didn't scare him and surprisingly he came! About two months later, on Valentine's Day, Charlie asked me to be his girlfriend. Charlie has been making me laugh since day one and I cannot wait for a lifetime together!

One day, Charlie started talking about how much fun it would be to get up and watch the sunrise on the beach together. On May 21st, 2022 he talked me into getting up early, getting all dressed up, and drinking our coffee while watching the sunrise. On June 18th the Riccios were in town. Charlie again talked me into dressing up and watching the sunrise on the beach. This time I made it more difficult because I did not want to dress up just to watch the sunrise, but Charlie said "ok, well if something crazy happens like we get engaged today you won't be dressed up for pictures!" All this time, I thought he was trying to trick me. After work on Friday July 1st, I came home to Charlie's family and all of the decorations for their "4th of July Party." The more the decorations I saw, the more suspicious I got. However, Charlie's family stuck to the script; I think they all have a hidden talent in acting! Friday, Charlie said "Let's watch the sunrise to kick off the holiday and our trip to Maine!" We were leaving for the airport bright and early Sunday morning for Maine. Again, I suggested we skip sunrise because I wanted to sleep in. Saturday morning on July 2nd I got all dressed up, Charlie made our coffee, and we headed down to the beach just as we had done the previous two times. When we got to our chairs, I noticed a photographer off in the distance. I thought, could this actually be it? Every time I glanced at the photograher, she was taking pictures of the ocean and looking in the other direction. I talked myself out of thinking it was actually happening. Charlie and I talked for a few minutes and then he wanted to dance. We practiced our swing dancing and when we went back to our chairs, Charlie asked me not to sit down. This was when I knew this sunrise was different! He shared a sweet speech, read 1 Corinthians 13:4, and got down on one knee. He asked me to be his wife and I tearfully said yes! When we walked back up to the house, my family was there ready to celebrate! We had a big brunch with all of our family and spent the day celebrating. But there was another surprise. After a nice dinner at Cafe 30A we headed to meet our friends the Clarks. I was suspicious, but Charlie stuck to his plan. On the way, we stopped by the beach house to pick something up and were welcomed by our friends and family! I was so surprised and we celebrated one of the best moments of my life. Charlie pulled off the best engagement and I will forever remember how loved I felt on July 2nd, 2022.