We met while I was on vacation with my family in Emerald Isle, NC. Andrew was stationed at Camp Lejeune and had just gotten back from being deployed in Afghanistan. His family and friends were welcoming him home and just happened to be staying at the same complex. I was sitting by the pool and as I was about to leave, Andrew and two of his friends walked in. We were the only ones at the pool so we ended up hanging out and talking the rest of the night. Through our conversations we discovered that we were all from Ohio. The next day I found Andrew on the beach and we spent most of the day hanging out and talking. We bonded over many things, one of which was the recent books we had read. There was an instant connection between us. We exchanged numbers and continued to talk after I went back to Ohio and he stayed in North Carolina. I was able to visit him in August for my birthday and we spent an entire weekend together. His 4 years of service was finally up in September and he moved back home to Columbus. We spent many long weekends visiting each other and after about 7 months he asked me to officially be his girlfriend on February 17th 2013.

We continued going back to Emerald Isle on vacation with my family a couple more times through the past years. Little did I know that this year Andrew had something special planned. For the first time since my family and I had been going on vacation to North Carolina, we didnt stay at that same resort. That didn't deter Andrew from planning the perfect surprise. Working with my parents, Andrew came up with a plan to get us back to Emerald Isle and up on the pier where we spent hours talking when we first met. We spent a few minutes talking and over looking the beach and as I turned around to leave, Andrew was down on one knee and asked me to marry him. With a big smile and tears streaming down my cheeks I enthusiastically said, YES! That wasn't where the surprise ended. We were walking back to the car and Andrew told me he had another surprise for me. We walked into a condo where I was greeted by not only my parents but his parents as well. I had no idea they were going to be there which made this moment even more special for the both of us. We are so excited to celebrate this next chapter in our lives with all of you!