our wedding in the mountains

Collin and I met through mutual friends our freshman year at Appalachian State! I was living on the 9th floor of our dorm and he was right below on the 8th. It didn't take the two of us, and apparently everyone else, very long to realize that we would be best friends (and in my mind only friends for the first few months even against popular opinion.) Collin was always a steady presence throughout our time together and now 5 years later (4 of which we have been dating) I am so excited to marry my *still* best friend and prove everyone back then that they were right about us.

Freshman year of college was full of new experiences and new relationships. It also created the best and deepest relationship of my life that would soon turn into the best experiences of my life. Hannah lived on the floor directly above me in our freshman dorm and to start, was the next door neighbor to some of our mutual friends. We probably knew of each other for a while before actually meeting but through hangouts and parties and even intramural sports, we began to get to know each other. I can't remember ever formally meeting but we just began a friendship. This friendship grew drastically over winter break when I cut off all my hair. A relationship and bond formed and it has been getting stronger everyday since then. We have shared many hikes and meals and beers together, all combining to make college some of the most memorable years of my life so far.

So Elly had been wanting to go to this lavender farm in Chapel Hill for quite some time and had mentioned doing a local day just the two of us and said we could book appointments to pick lavender. We had the whole day planned - head to to the farm, pick lavender at our 11am appointment (this made sense because of COVID), grab coffee on Franklin Street and then head to another garden down the road! This weekend was one of Collin and I’s off-weekend for visiting so I genuinely suspected nothing. Anyways, so somehow as we were getting ready, Elly accomplished all the following things that don’t typically happen: picked my outfit, straightened my hair, had me put on makeup, and picked my accessories which ended on a “wow an engagement ring would look really great with my outfit” note from me. She then proceeded to get me to drive her car to the farm so that I couldn’t be on my phone in any way - not that anything could have ruined it, I was 100% NOT suspicious! Once we arrived to the farm, at first I thought it was strange that no one else was there but again with the virus it barely phased me. We met with the owner, Karen, who was so incredibly sweet as she showed us the way to cut the lavender just perfectly and stay facing away from the building - clever. There was even a moment where I had turned around and saw someone walking towards us in the corner but thought it was family since they live on the property (side note that was actually Collin I just didn’t notice). I bent down to clip some more lavender and it wasn’t until Collin was 5 feet in front of me that I realized he was there and what was happening! I said “oh my gosh!” a bunch of times because I truly couldn’t believe they pulled it off on me! Apparently I forgot to say yes right away and I was too in shock to put the ring on at first - oops - but it was absolutely perfect to say the least! I love you Collin, you did so good!

Fast forward 4 years to our senior year of college. This is when engagement talk began. We were both set to graduate soon and we had to decide what we wanted after college. Although, there wasn't much to decide between, by this point we both knew we were ready to spend forever together. The real decision was if I was going to make Hannah wait a couple years or not. Fast forward again to November 2019 - this is when me and her sister, Elly actually began thinking about engagement plans. By this point, Hannah had already made the process easy and told me exactly what ring she wanted and I had gathered what kind of setting she wanted. Between November 2019 and March 2020, all of the plans were hypotheticals. But in April, our first opportunity came to go through with an actual plan. Hannah and Elly had a sister trip planned to revisit their favorite spots up in Boone. Her sister and I created the perfect proposal - I would surprise her on the Parkway while they were on a hike and propose in the city where we had met and grew to love each other. But then came along a pandemic that put a little damper on those plans. The hotel they had booked closed and the trip was cancelled, and so were the plans. From there, we had to come up with new plans and quickly. Hannah started suspecting that I would propose on their yearly beach trip (this is where I asked her to be my girlfriend) but that was way too obvious, so I had to act before that. May came around and a moment finally came up that felt right. The weekend of Memorial Day was free of any outside plans and the opportunity was perfect - other than the pandemic still affecting the whole world. Every garden, park, or public nature spot was either closed or under construction. On Friday, May 22nd, Elly sent me over a lavender farm she knew of in Chapel Hill. I reached out to them and they immediately responded with open arms. They opened their farm just for us and had the perfect set up for an engagement.

Saturday, May 23rd came quickly. I woke up and drove straight to the Lavender farm to meet Hannah and Elly (Hannah thought she was just getting to pick some lavender for fun). The owner took them out to the fields and set them up right in the middle. I was waiting behind some bushes far away and began walking over to Hannah. She actually looked right at me and still suspected nothing. Finally, I was right in front of her, at that point she already knew what was happening. I had a small speech and the question planned out but I don't even think she heard any of it. I took out the ring, gave my speech and asked the question. She was way too excited to even say yes or put the ring on, but eventually I was actually able to put the ring on and hear her say yes. I love you a lot.