We're Getting Married!

Brandon and I joined ACC's photography program in the fall of 2017, and met in art history class. He sat in the back of the classroom like the Slytherin he is, and I sat in the front like the Ravenclaw I am. He gradually moved closer and closer to me throughout the semester and ended up sitting behind me for the rest of class - not all creepy like tho. We spent the next spring semester getting to know each other in class, through class critiques and dad jokes. So many dad jokes. . . And then Japan happened. We both went on the 2018 Japan trip with a bunch of our friends and the trip changed our lives. We hella bonded on the trip, forming what I just thought was going to be an amazing friendship. After we got back from the trip, we couldn't stop texting each other. So we decided to give it a shot and here we are! I knew from the start that he was the one for me and that we were destined to be together. We were even talking about marriage and kids on our first date! I am so lucky to have this incredible man in my life and I can't wait for all of the adventures we will go on together.

Though we indeed met in our Art History class and I was indeed seat hopping throughout the semester; it wasn't because I was slithering my way closer to Ash. Everybody had their "unassigned assigned" seating that should someone else sit in their seat, that person would awkwardly sit somewhere else in the classroom and I thrived on that chaos. Being that there is opposition in everything, I was the opposition to this verbally agreed seating chart. It just so happened that I wound up in the row behind Ashlyn during the last few weeks of the semester. I'm not complaining about it though. As for the dad jokes, they're honestly my best quality. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The study abroad trip to Japan will always be ingrained in my memory banks as the best two weeks of my young adult life. Learning about Eastern culture and cuisine, experiencing a major metropolis, and exploring it at night in the rain (#mint), but also finding the love of my life at the same time - All we had to do was go halfway around the world to find each other. During the traditional tea ceremony we attended in Tokyo, our hosts taught us about the cultural concept of "Ichi-go, Ichi-e" or "One Time, One Meeting" - To treasure the unrepeatable nature of a moment. When we got back to Denver, Ash and I went to my tattoo artist and had the Ichi-go Ichi-e kanji and a tori gate tattooed on my arm. Yes, it is true that we talked about marriage and kids on our first date. If memory serves correctly, I believe I was the one to bring it up; but, I don't remember how it came up. (Moms, don't be expecting any kids any time sooner than 7-years and no more than two.) Ashlyn truly brings out a better side of me, pushes me to be better tomorrow than what I was today, and always has my back when making incredible life choices. My only hope is that she feels the same about me.

Brandon had an idea of taking me to the Ice Castles in Dillon, CO (they're absolutely gorgeous by the way, you should totally check them out.) We went up about a week before to hang out there and we had the idea to come back and do a photoshoot there. Several days later, we were back on I-70 with some nice clothes, our photographer, and (little did I know it) an engagement ring in tow. There was a snowstorm that day in typical Colorado February fashion, a total whiteout in the mountains and perfectly sunny in the city. We sat in traffic for several hours before realizing that we weren't getting to Dillon anytime soon and we should probably turn around before we got stuck. Brandon and our photographer (groomsman Matt) were furiously texting each other trying to figure things out, and we ended up pulling off of the highway to a cute trailhead in the middle of nowhere. Now, in the parking lot of this trailhead were: one broken down semi, one tow truck that had its work cut out for it, two state patrol officers waiting for the next accident to happen on the highway, and one suspicious looking trailer that looked like the owner could be cooking meth inside. We decided that this place was as good as any and we started down the trail, dressed to the nines in a suit and ballgown. We started taking photos and, as they say, the rest is history.