What once started as a middle school crush, took a 15 year hiatus for the timing to be just right!! 3 years ago the social media Gods decided to take things into their own hands by placing pictures of Jake's new puppy (Tiger) at the top of Julie's notifications list, for which Julie soon became one of Tigers biggest fans - because how could you not?? The new exposure of seeing each others lives on social media brought up old feelings of - hmmm...he/she was super cute back in the day....I wonder if?! Although it had been at least 5 years since they talked, Jake decided to take a chance one Sunday afternoon in April and message Julie on Facebook to strike up a conversation and "shoot his shot"! Quick messages back and forth soon progressed to daily phone calls and finally the moment of truth...THE FIRST DATE! Jake flew in special from South Carolina and they spent the day getting to know one another and cheering on the ponies for the Kentucky Derby! Several cocktails helped to break the ice...but sparks were flying by the end of the night! Not wanting the weekend to end just yet, Jake asked Julie to a Red's game the very next day and they both found themselves secretly praying for extra innings so the night wouldn't end! By the end of the weekend one thing was apparent, this was the start of something special!

Europe, Hawaii, Hilton Head Island...Jake not only planned one EPIC proposal, he planned THREE!! He had plans to propose on their fall vacation for months, but in true 2020 fashion, everything was getting postponed or cancelled making him put in extra work to make it a success! Since the new plan was to drive to HHI, they decided to leave a day early and stop in Ashville on the way down to tour the Biltmore Estate and take in everything downtown Ashville had to offer! Like everything else in his planning process, this too was almost cancelled due to Julie's mom having a stroke at the beginning of the month and coming home from rehab at the time of the trip! But after MUCH encouragement and insistence from her mom, the trip was a GO! They arrived to Ashville early in the afternoon but didn't have reservations to walk through the Biltmore until later that day. Julie was worried they weren't going to have enough time to see everything and insisted they go earlier! They finally parked and walked the 5 minute trail to the property and were stunned by its pure beauty on arrival. Jake noted the LARGE hill directly behind them and insisted they walk up to the top to "take in the scenery even more"! Julie, hesitant and complaining at first of the added exercise he proposed, decided to make it a competition with monitoring her heart rate as they walked up the hill! Clueless of what was really going on, she kept attempting to deviate to the side of the hill not to block any of the onlookers at the top! Halfway up the hill, Jake grabs Julie's hand and looks her dead in the eye, promised her forever and dropped to one knee! SCREAMS and CRIES of "ARE YOU SERIOUS?" could be heard probably a mile away - Sorry not sorry! Through the midst of tears, hugs and kisses the professional photographer Jake had hired emerged from hiding and the secret was out!! They spent the rest of the night on CLOUD NINE face timing family and celebrating with drinks on the town! BEST DAY EVER!