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Registry items are now available on Amazon and Zola #LaurenGotKaraedAway
Registry items are now available on Amazon and Zola #LaurenGotKaraedAway

Lauren & Kara

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Kara Cox

&

Lauren Fowler

February 4, 2024

Greenville, SC

Our Love Story

How it all began...

More proof that dating apps sometimes get it right. Lauren and Kara matched a week before Kara's 29th birthday. They both knew right away there was a connection. When Kara invited Lauren to meet and celebrate her birthday with her, Lauren dropped what she was doing (literally) and set plans to meet Kara in person for the first time at Sassafrass in downtown Greenville. That date became the first of many. A few dinners turned into a few weekends spent together, and those weekends turned into a few short day-trip adventures. Kara had a summer job lined up in North Carolina, but Lauren persuaded Kara to return to Greenville once her contract was up. Admittedly, it didn't take very much convincing. Kara moved back to Greenville, and that's where their story continues...

Our Engagement Story

How Lauren Proposed

Lauren had a simple rule. No talk of engagement until after two years of dating. While Kara's and Lauren's love grew, those two years came and went. It was clearly time to begin looking at engagement rings, exemplifying their commitment to each other. They browsed together, discussing styles and preferences, hinting at ways in which they had always envisioned their proposals. In December of 2021, Lauren determined she had waited as long as humanly possible to give Kara the engagement ring she'd been keeping secret for roughly a month. Something about the date 12/21/21 spoke to Lauren. The timing felt right. Slowly she began making suggestions to Kara that they enjoy a date night before the Christmas Holiday when Kara would be working. After mentioning a few options, Lauren suggested dinner at Sassafras, where they first met. Kara agreed that was also her favorite option, so Lauren made arrangements for their date night. A warm dinner with a window looking onto the patio and the courtyard was the perfect setting to begin their night, and Lauren had a vision for how the night would end just as perfectly. After dinner, they stepped into the courtyard to see the trees lit for Christmas. Though it was very cold that night, Lauren asked Kara if they could take a picture in front of the trees, as they did on their first Christmas together. While standing nuzzled together to keep each other warm, Lauren surprised Kara, letting her know that she, in fact, had Kara's engagement ring. The date, 12/21/21, was the winter solstice, the time of year when the night is longest. The beauty of this day is in knowing that increasingly brighter days are just ahead.

Our Engagement Story

How Kara Proposed

Kara had been planning since August 2021 for the right time and place to propose to Lauren. By September she had the ring and was keeping it safe and hidden with Lauren's friend Meredith. When Lauren proposed in December, it was quite a shock. Lauren had made it clear that she would not be proposing first, but her impatience had ultimately beaten out her predictability. A few weeks after their initial engagement, Lauren and Kara were preparing for 2022. They shared a mountain home with Meredith and Meredith's family. At over 4,000 feet above sea level, the views from this home were breathtaking. From the backyard, the view of the Smoky Mountains' tree-covered peaks, bare from the snow, cast a blue silhouette like a shadow against the horizon. On the first day of the new year, the light broke through sparse, gray clouds and shone beams on the mountains and valleys. Kara and Lauren were getting ready to go for a drive to a neighboring town. They were letting Tessa, their Australian Shepherd, work out some energy before being in the car. Tessa ran around the yard, up and down the steep hills and trails, while Kara and Lauren waited on a small wooden bridge in front of a quaint Koi pond. The time was right, and Kara presented Lauren with her engagement ring in the ideal setting for them to feel on top of the world.

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