John had been going to my church for a few months, but our paths never crossed until one morning at Sunday School in January 2016. I remember seeing John and thinking something like, "What a hottie;). I should say something about these bagels to him so I can randomly talk to him." lol I did, and pretty soon we were talking about our favorite bagels till class started. Most stories end here with "And the rest is history", but ours took a little bit more time. Being a marine who was getting ready to be transferred elsewhere in 3 months, John knew he liked me, but he wasn't sure it made sense to start dating someone when he would be leaving in 2 months. Thankfully, he asked his marine buddy how he met his fiancée, and to John’s surprise, his friend explained that he too began dating his soon-to-be-bride knowing he’d only have a few months in her area. He told John, “Don’t worry about the timeline. What if she’s the one and you never knew because you didn’t ask?” That was all John needed to hear, 'And the rest is history' ;) Needless to say, I'm so glad he asked!

While in France for John's brother’s wedding, we went to a beautiful castle city called Carcassonne. It was our second day of touring the castle walls, and we finally found a higher section of the wall which would give us a beautiful view of the vineyards along with the castle and the surrounding city. John kept talking about taking a picture, and right when I thought he was going to take a picture he began recording a video. In the video he’s talking about where we are and why— because I love castles and vineyards. And as he’s talking with his one hand holding out his phone, I can see something gleaming in-between the fingers of his other hand which is resting on my shoulder. I snatch my sunglasses off, and demand, “What is that??!!” At this point, I turn around and he’s down on one knee asking, “Meredith, will you marry me?” Obviously, I was blown away. What was so great about that moment was that the castle was packed with tourists that day, but right at that time, there was no one around, it was just me and John😊 And maybe one Frenchman that saw the proposal happen from the castle wall above us and shouted down, “She say oui?” To which I answered, “Yes!!! I said oui!!!” Lol And I cant wait to continue saying “Oui” for the rest of my life!!!