Thanks to a "mutual friend," Brandon and I were introduced in January of 2020. After sliding into my instagram DM's and talking for a few weeks, Brandon finally asked me to go on a date with him- on Valentine's Day. So, on February 14, 2020, Brandon took me to Panera Bread for dinner. The only things I remember about that dinner is that Brandon's food came out completely wrong and he refused to say anything about it, and that everyone we saw seemed to know "Bmax." After dinner, we went back to Brandon's, where he insisted we watch Lizard Lick Towing videos. We finished the night with Cookout Milkshakes, and a small feeling that we might work out. Over the past five years, we have built a life together full of love, laughter, adventure and unforgettable moments. We've traveled often, gone to lots of concerts, moved cities, purchased a house and became pup parents to our sweet Duchess. I know that I have found my life partner. I cannot wait to marry Brandon Tyler!
If you ever ask Emily her version of this story, don't let her fool you into thinking she knew she was getting proposed to when she walked up those stairs to that rooftop. Every dinner reservation, trip, or special occasion for the previous few weeks, I think she had it in the back of her mind that it could be happening then (I've seen the Tik Tok drafts to back this up). I had no clue how I could surprise someone who was on high-alert looking for signs and who knows every aspect of me, but I knew I had to try to make this day as special as she is. As I began to brainstorm and bounce ideas off some of the people that mean the most to the both of us, Gabby found the coolest rooftop in Emily's hometown of McMinnville. With the help of one of Emily's lifelong mentors, Mrs. Marla, and her grandma, Lightning Linda, they convinced her she needed to come home for the County Fair the following weekend. Now, I needed to figure out how she wouldn't suspect I would be in McMinnville too (I mean she knows I couldn't just tell her no, so that's not an option). We were in the process of buying our first house while this was going on. I had our mortgage lender, Scott, text us in a group message saying he needed to have a last minute meeting with one of us at the house on Saturday. After trying to fight Scott on it, Emily finally realized she would have to be making this trip home by herself (or so she thought). The last step of getting to McMinnville without her noticing my location was the hardest, but ended up being the coolest part of the story. We had recently started using Life360 (S/O to working in downtown Memphis) so she would definitely know if I took a 4 hour roadtrip. Until the day before, my plan was to just delete the app and hope she didn't notice. Then on the night before, miraculously, Life360 goes down for a little. I told Emily to get on the app so she would see the notification of it having tech issues. I was able to disable my location on the app, and get her other family and friends on there to all do the same. She was convinced the app was just down for the whole weekend, and my location in Collierville was correct! Gabby convinced Emily to get dressed up for pictures on a new rooftop she wanted to see. When Emily made it up the stairs, I was waiting at the end of a walkway of rose petals. I was so happy that moment was finally here, I'm not sure if I got a full sentence out before asking her to marry me. We got to celebrate with both of our families, and that day would not have been possible without all their help. Everyone involved did so much to make that day as special as possible, and I couldn't be more thankful. I'm not sure if I will ever be able to adequately describe to Emily how much she means to me and how much I love her, but I hope to have a lifetime of trying to put it into words.