Micheal and I met in 2009 (!!!) when his mom got a job as the Youth Pastor at my childhood church. In typical middle school girl fashion, my best friend, Maggie, and I GAWKED at the shaggy headed boy that walked in behind his mom the very first Sunday that she worked at the church. It wasn’t until about a year or so later that Micheal and I really got to know each other, and I looked forward to Sundays because it meant I got to see him. Our friendship grew into a crush over the years that we never really did anything about, to the point where both of our parents and our pastor had an ongoing joke of us getting married one day. (Parent’s intuition??) Fast forward to 2013, it was the summer before my junior, his senior, year of high school. We went on a mission trip to Costa Rica with our church and something about the seclusion from our world back home with no distractions for a week sparked something in both of us. We came back home a little more than friends and never looked back! 8 years’ worth of memories later and we’ve shared high school and college graduations, 21st birthdays, getting doggos together, moving to a new city, so many sushi dates, and now planning our wedding!

The proposal was straight out of a movie- It’s my favorite story to tell! We headed home to my parent’s house in Beaufort for what I thought was a weekend to spend with my brother and sister who were in town. (Of course, they were home to celebrate with us, but I didn’t know that yet.) Micheal laid out a dress on my bed with a notecard that sent me on a scavenger hunt around town to places that were special and meaningful to our relationship. At each stop, I found my parents, our best friends Sam and Sasha, and even his parents (who flew from MN to surprise me!) with my next notecard and clue. The final location was a gazebo on the waterfront where we spent our first anniversary, and I walked up (completely sobbing) to the most beautiful set up and a handsome guy waiting for me with one final notecard and a ring in his pocket. 16-year-old Lauren knew this guy would be her husband and this day was more perfect than I ever imagined. We can’t wait to celebrate our big day with all our favorite people!