Time to Celebrate!

In October 2018, Ryan took me on a trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee with a couple of close friends (HEY KAYLA AND ERIC) for my birthday. The four of us were having a blast all day walking around the shops, freezing half to death, and attending a moonshine tasting or two. Near the end of the day, we took one of the sky lifts up to Anakeesta, located on a ridge above Gatlinburg. It was so gorgeous! We found a cute photo stop and Ryan suggested we take pictures here. Ryan and I stepped into the spot, and I waited for Kayla to snap a photo. However, Ryan wasn't really posing for a photo. He started talking to me and telling me how happy he was, and before I knew it he was down on one knee asking me to marry him. In his hand he had the ring box with the most gorgeous ring I've ever seen in my life (seriously, I couldn't have picked a better one). Completely surprised, I'm pretty sure I immediately crying tears of joy. I managed to tell him "YES!" before I began full-on sobbing. Everything was perfect about that weekend. We had a blast with friends, saw multiple bears (a personal lifelong dream of mine), and I found out I was going to get to marry Ryan Edward Hastings, the most wonderful man I have ever met.

We had originally planned to get married and have a big wedding last year. However half way through the planning of the wedding, something came up that made those plans impossible. That something was finding out we were pregnant with our precious Robert Emmett Hastings! Because of this, we made the decision to say our vows in a small ceremony that only included close family. Although we were confident in our decision, we were super bummed that we wouldn't be able to dress up and celebrate with our friends and family. Then we thought, "Wait a minute, we can do what we want." We decided to have a vow renewal ceremony on our one year anniversary followed by a "wedding reception" style event to celebrate family, friends, and love! We are beyond excited for this opportunity to have our loved ones by our side as we celebrate our very first year of marriage!