We have known each other since first grade. We had classes together, mutual friends, and shared school activities. Our romance started as a small flirtation on our tenth grade class trip to D.C. We started “talking “ on that trip but didn’t have our first date until October 13, 2015. Our first date was a trip to the State Fair. Neither of us was old enough to drive ourselves so we had to go with the parents. Our love blossomed slowly from there. We have now been together for close to 9 years. We have weathered many hardships including four years of a long distance relationship while we went to separate North Carolina colleges. During that time, we have shared trips, dances, festivals, and even Covid. We graduated from our undergraduate studies in May 2022 and began our life together in Texas. We relocated to Harlingen, Texas to chase career opportunities. There we created our first home and got our best girl, Luna. We are now settled in Nashville, Tennessee. Our guy, Koda, joined our family just a few months ago. We have had quite the adventure getting to this point…. 8 years, 2 proms, 3 universities, 3 sorority formals, 16 birthdays, 8 Valentines days, 4 graduations, 2 trips abroad together, thousands of road miles travelled, 2 moves, and 2 dogs. Throughout it all, through the highs and lows, our love has remained steadfast and has continued to grow. Now we are ready to take this last trip separately down the aisle to become officially one family in the eyes of the church, our families and our friends.

Four white lies and a ring….. First, the back story. After being together for so long, it’s become quite hard to surprise Caroline with anything. I have dead giveaways when I lie, so oftentimes it is never a surprise to begin with. So I knew planning our surprise engagement was going to be a challenge. But, making it special and memorable for Caroline was important, especially since we would be moving all the way to Harlingen, TX, in one weeks time. So our proposal was successful only with a series of little white lies. My first lie involved the engagement ring. I was fortunate to have been given my parents’ original engagement ring. I wanted to have the diamond placed in a new setting for my new bride. I lied to Caroline by meeting with her dad behind her back to visit Hinkamp Jewelers in Fayetteville. Her dad and I were able to consult with Mr. Hinkamp and choose a beautiful style to house the really special and meaningful diamond. My second lie to set up the proposal involved getting Caroline to our hometown of Fayetteville without being conspicuous. I asked her to help my parents move into their new house. My mom also assisted my cause by saying she REALLY needed the help. After helping my parents, I told her that that I at least owed her a "dinner date", which, I'll say now, didn’t happen. My third lie involved a small hoax. Caroline believed we were going downtown to eat at a really nice restaurant for our date. In reality, our favorite photographer, Morgan, was hiding in a bush nearby to capture the moment. In order to buy the time I needed for everything to be set up, I, being quite directionally challenged, took her all over downtown and blamed the GPS. We finally made it to a beautiful bridge and we began to walk across. That was where it happened. Morgan captured all of Caroline’s emotions, especially her surprise and big smile. I was struck with nerves in the moment. I could barely even get the words I wanted to say out. Luckily, Caroline said yes before I even finished with my proposal speech. Morgan was able to take us through the downtown area getting our first engagement pictures. Caroline was smiling so wide because I had finally proposed. The story continued with part 2 of the hoax. After the pictures, Caroline expected our special dinner and asked when our reservation was. That was when I got a call from the "restaurant" (a.k.a my sister Amy) telling us that we had missed it. I fake “argued” over the phone, but had to unfortunately tell Caroline that our reservation was cancelled because we were too late. At that point, Caroline was quite hangry asked what we were going to eat. That is when I told her my final white lie. Caroline did not know that many of our family and her close friends were waiting for our arrival at our favorite brewery in town for a small engagement party hosted by our parents. We drove from downtown to Dirtbag Ales in Hope Mills. As we were driving there, I think it clicked in Caroline's brain that I had planned one final thing. We ended the day surrounded by everyone we loved doing what we love to do, drinking nice draft beer and celebrating our love for each other. I have never lied to Caroline like that, but I think it was worth it.