Two and a half years ago, one of Morgan's college bestie's, Farrah, invited her to Charlotte for the weekend. That was Morgan's first visit to Elevation Church. That day, Morgan knew she had to move to Charlotte to be a part of Elevation, where she would grow in an women's eGroup, volunteer on the host team, get baptized, and eventually meet her future husband. Almost five years ago, Jay ventured to Charlotte, NC during his college spring break to visit Elevation. He knew God was calling him to move to Charlotte and be a part of Elevation Church, so he applied and got accepted to the church's internship program beginning fall 2013, where he then got hired on staff as a video producer, and eventually met his future wife! Jesus got them to Charlotte through Elevation Church and their faith has grown tremendously through it all. In January 2017, Morgan began working in eCademy (Elevation's preschool for staff children) and Jay had been working there for three and a half years at this point. After a month of working there, Morgan was told three times in one week that "she had to meet Jay Bowser," at the same time that Jay was told that "he had to meet Morgan Parks in eCademy." (Special thank you's to Emily Arceneaux, Sarah Lack, and Ashlee Tucker!) On March 15th, 2017, Sarah brought Jay to Morgan's classroom for an introduction. Talk about butterflies! It was the sweetest of meetings. From there, they began having lunch together in the break room, messaging on Instagram, and seeing each other around the office. After a few weeks of getting to know one another, Jay asked Morgan on a date! On April 7th, 2017, they had their first date to Tupelo Honey followed by coffee at Not Just Coffee. It lasted six hours! The date concluded with the mutual feeling that God was beginning something so special and so beautiful. AND HE WAS!

I was under the impression that we were going out for an all day birthday adventure. Jay came over bright & early to pick me up. He gave me an envelope explaining that the day was going to be a “choose your own adventure” day. This meant I would be given envelopes with options for each adventure. Adventure #1 consisted of two envelopes. I had the option to choose relieving an old adventure or trying a new adventure. My sentimental spirit chose to relieve an old adventure. I opened the envelope & it said we would be going to Tupelo Honey followed by lattes at Not Just Coffee (aka relieving our first date). Adventure #2 consisted of three envelopes. I chose option 1 which was a donut tour, my fave! There was a slight break between Adventure #2 & Adventure #3, so we decided to go a local adoption fair to play with puppies! Adventure #3 consisted of three envelopes & each option was a pun of my favorite lunch spots in Charlotte. I chose option 2 & we headed to Mayo Bird for yummy chicken salad sliders. At this point, I was overwhelmed with the thoughtfulness & intentionality that Jay put into my birthday adventure. I thought the day couldn’t get any more perfect, but it sure did! Adventure #4 consisted of three envelopes & a verbal warning that we were leaving Charlotte & going on a bit of a drive. All three Adventure #4 envelopes led to the same place, but I wasn’t supposed to know that. I chose option 1 “Falling for You All Over Again” because it made me believe that we were headed to Falls Park downtown Greenville, & I was right! Continue reading on next story..

Jay & I take frequent Day trips to Greenville, we love it there! When we arrived, our first stop was at Luna Rosa, our favorite gelato store. Then we headed to Falls Park for our traditional walk around the park. We passed the bench where he asked me to be his girlfriend on April 17th, 2017, then we headed towards “our bridge.” The bridge is a special place to us because it’s where we shared our first kiss. We always stop for a smooch each time we visit the park! As we made our way underneath the bridge, Jay set the umbrella down & pulled out a letter from his jacket. As he began to read it, my heart knew that this moment was bigger than our usual stop for a kiss. This was THE MOMENT. The moment that God crafted long before we met. The moment that Jay was asking me to spend forever alongside him as his wife. The most beautiful moment. Jay finished reading the most precious letter, got down on one knee, pulled a tiny box out, asked me to marry him, & of course I said YES!!! Jay had the ring tucked into his sock which said “Marry Me?” The evening concluded with a romantic celebratory dinner downtown Greenville at Husk (highly recommend btw!). Falls Park is the place where he asked me to be his girlfriend, where we kissed for the first time, where we’ve talked & dreamt about life, & on February 10th, 2018, it’s the place where he asked me to be his wife. ALL in the same city where we will be married May 28th, 2018! AND WE CAN’T WAIT!!!