Catherine and John first met while attending college on opposite sides of North Carolina. They talked here and there but never got to see much of each other living so far apart. Eventually, Catherine worked up the courage to ask John to her Valentines Day cocktail in February 2015! For most of you that know John, you are probably aware he can be...a little difficult for lack of better words. Instead of making it easy on Catherine and just saying yes, he said he would only come if she asked him in a "Promposal" sort of way (he may have been joking but Catherine took it seriously). Catherine ended up cutting a hole in a basketball and making it into a gift basket with a sign that said, "Will you ball out at Valentines day cocktail with me?" Catherine likes to think that won over John's heart because, come that weekend in February, John drove those four long hours to spend one night with Catherine. Fast forward to Spring Break 2015, Catherine and John were still talking every so often, but with over 275 miles between them, they were doing their own thing. While they were on different Spring Breaks, John had someone "secretly" record him saying how he felt about Catherine and send it to her. She thought it was really sweet and decided that since her Spring Break ended one day early she would go visit him in Cary while he was home. After that they knew they really liked each other but still weren't too sure about the distance, so they went their separate ways. Finally, on April 5th 2015, John and Catherine spent Easter together, and it was then that they knew that they could beat the odds. They started what would be their two and a half years of long distance.

Catherine is an extremely difficult person to surprise. Any event (Catherine’s birthday, Christmas, Valentine’s Day) that promises a gift is somehow spoiled weeks in advance. She suspects something coming and takes extraordinary measures to spoil the surprise by going through John’s text messages, searching emails for receipts, and even forcefully cornering relatives who she suspects have knowledge of a potential surprise. John knew an anticipated engagement would be no different. He would have to take drastic measures to preserve some element of surprise for their special moment, which took some planning on his part. Months before the event, Catherine scanned Diamond’s Direct in search of her perfect stone. Little did she know that John would purchase her ring right then and there while she wasn’t looking. It was successfully kept a secret despite the next week of Catherine’s disappointment (to say the least) that a purchase wasn’t made. The proposal was carefully contemplated to meet Catherine’s high expectations. The beach was finally settled on. To keep the element of surprise, John would have one of his friends suggest a beach trip. It worked perfectly as that was all Catherine needed to take the reigns and plan the entire weekend! The weeks leading up to the trip were filled with Catherine falsely anticipating a proposal. A weekend with friends was the last time that Catherine would expect as John is a relatively reserved person, and she never thought this weekend would be their moment. The proposal was successful with Alfa (Dog of Honor) asking his mother if she’d marry John. How could she say no to Alfa?!? She said YES! The weather was perfect, and it was all caught on camera with aerial footage by a drone. Catherine and John were surrounded by friends who would then go on to enjoy the unforgettable weekend together.