We first met in the summer of 2011 during Freshman Orientation at Lenoir City High School. (Eric still doesn’t remember this, but I swear it happened!) According to Eric, we met in Mrs. Renker’s homeroom many months later. During our Sophomore year of high school, Eric and I started *talking*. This lasted for about a month until one day out of the blue, Eric texted me and said he could only "see me as a friend" (lol). At first, I was bummed, but then I quickly realized that he was on to something! During the four and a half years that followed, we became the absolute best of friends. We made Sonic runs, went to Senior prom together, played tennis, went to college orientation together, studied nonstop, went to UT games, laughed a ton, saw many movies, and hung out 24/7. Eventually we came to our senses and decided to go on a date in September of 2017. A few weeks later, he asked me to be his girlfriend and three years later, he asked me to be his wife.

On October 24th, we went out to lunch together at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, and during the meal, I got a text from my mom asking me and Eric to meet them at our family's lake lot. Even though the reasoning for us joining them was valid, I grew increasingly suspicious on the ride over (so much so that I typed, word for word, "I think this is a trick. I think Eric's proposing", into the notes app on my phone just so that I could prove I was right after the fact). Sure enough, when we arrived, a blanket was set out and I noticed our photographer friend, Summer, there ready to snap the picture. He also made sure to bring along a cookie cake, a prerequisite that I had set for me saying yes. We spent the rest of the day sharing the news with our friends and family, and we can't wait to celebrate with everyone in September!