It's time to celebrate! She said yes! Join us in the countdown until we say "I do"

I had just completed my first school year as a staff member at Princeton High School and began preparing for the next one. In the late summer months, as other staff members began to come back into the building, I noticed a new face in the office area. Ms. Christa Wilson had officially joined the team. In the passing days as staff were building rapport with one another, I just so happened to be in the office area when a conversation was started about the current world of dating and relationships. Although I was not sure why at the time, I found myself listening very intently when Christa was asked what her ideal traits were for a partner. I also found myself mentally checking boxes as she listed them. In the following weeks, I decided to ask her out on a date. Much to my surprise, she responded very excitedly and replied, "I have been waiting for you to ask." At that moment, I knew that I had something truly beautiful!

For our second date, I had got us a pair of tickets to see Fantasia and Joe at Heritage Bank Arena. One thing about Christa and I, we love good music, so a concert seemed like a perfect opportunity to get to know each other a little more and really enjoy a fun experience together. After a quick dinner, we decided to get to the arena a little early so we could beat the crowd and get settled in. Now, the seats I found for us were not the greatest in the house, but I was honestly more concerned with just spending time with Christa anyway, so it wasn’t that big a deal to either of us. About 10 to 15 minutes after getting into our seats, we were approached by a random gentleman who asked if we wanted better seats. Immediately, we both began looking around for a hidden camera or something because, in our minds, there was no way this dude was serious. After some assurances that this was no joke, we decided to follow this gentleman as he led us down onto the floor. He introduced us to his wife, who I later learned was a very well known social media influencer and businesswoman, and they both explained that they had just decided that they wanted to bless a random couple with floor seats after a pair of their friends were no longer able to make the show. We stood in shock for a second, but we did thank them for the wonderful gesture, and we were able to enjoy the entire concert from the THIRD ROW!! BEST SECOND DATE EVER!!!

In April of 2024, I won a vacation giveaway through a family friend. At that moment, I knew I wanted to use the vacation as my opportunity to pop the question! I decided to go with Miami as our destination and to use her birthday as the reason for the trip, so as not to draw too much attention to the real surprise. In the planning stages, I struggled a lot with how I was going to propose because I wanted to create a "perfect moment" for just us with an intimate moment on the beach. Still, I also knew that we both have a lot of love for our families and it would be a lot more special if they were there, but there was no way I could get everyone to come to Miami without spoiling the surprise in some way. Then it hit me! Fast forward to July 18th. It's Christa's birthday. We'd just flown back home after an amazing few days of peace and sunshine in North Beach. I had arranged for her dad to pick us up from the airport. The whole ride home, Christa kept hinting that she knew there would be some kind of surprise party waiting for her at the house. If you know me, then you know I just nodded my head and kept my mouth shut. We get to the house, and she is greeted by so many of our friends and family giving her all the birthday love. Then came the big moment! They all began trickling outside to the backyard as I took my place on the patio. As she came out, it was the immediate transition from her giddy frolic to stunned silence as she realized what was happening. After she joined me on the patio and I began to speak, I realized at that moment that even as we were surrounded by our friends and family, I still felt as if I had been blessed to have that intimate "just us" moment that I wanted. It all came together so well, and by the grace of God, SHE SAID YES!!!