Our story was a long journey, so I'm not sure where exactly to begin. Growing up, Jared and my brother, Peyton, used to play on the same little league baseball team. I had a crush on him when we were about six, but I don't think he knew I even existed back then. It wasn't until our freshman year of high school that we became friends. Fast forwarding to our junior year, Jared and I got paired to go to prom together. We went just as friends. At least, that's what I thought. We started hanging out more outside of school. Some might have called this a date, but I was 16 and quite naive. We never started dating, and just stayed friends through our senior year. Jared started college that summer at The University of Florida, where we both went to school. I didn't start until that fall, but the second I stepped on campus he was quick to include me in all of the plans he had. Pretty soon, we became the best of friends. He made it clear that he had feelings for me, but I was nervous to ruin the sweet friendship we had created if things didn't work out. He was so persistent in the way he continued to include me and care for me. At this point, his intentions to date me were quite clear, and he left the ball in my court. The weekend of the Florida/Georgia game, I finally admitted my feelings to him. About a week later, on November 6, 2018, we officially started dating. Ever since then, we have continued to grow closer together. We have shared some of the sweetest years of our lives together, and we are both so excited to begin the next chapter. I can't imagine a more perfect man to take on the rest of my years together with.

Jared's biggest priority for the proposal was that I would have no clue it was coming- and that is exactly how it happened. We had talked about getting engaged shortly after graduation, but with us both starting new jobs and moving to Nashville, I had no clue it would happen so soon. The night before, his sister, Morgan, asked me if I would go watch the sunrise with her the next morning at the beach. Everyone always asks me how this wasn't a dead giveaway, but it truly wasn't. Morgan and I have a very close relationship, and I was already planning on finding time to spend with her before we moved a couple weeks later. She has also done this with her friends from home many times, so I didn't think anything of it. The next morning, we woke up and headed for the beach. We sat there watching the sunrise, talking about life, the move, and all the big changes that were coming. About 20 minutes go by when Morgan gets a "butt dial" call from her mom. This was the signal that her and Jared had arrived at the beach. She asked me to take a selfie so she could get me turned around. After she took the picture I looked over and saw Jared walking over the sand dune. It all hit me when I saw him come up with flowers in his hands and tears in his eyes. I think I was too stunned to actually utter an audible "yes," but I do know that I was fully confident in my decision to spend the rest of my life with Jared. There were no cameras, no people around, just a sweet moment for the two of us to celebrate the next chapter together. It was truly the most perfect day any girl could ever dream of!