Josh and I met in 2011 while working at an IT consulting company in Franklin, TN. I had decided to leave teaching and try something different. After an extensive search, I was hired by Bedroc, where Josh had already been working for awhile. We ended up on the same account management team and got to know each other really well. Out of the blue in 2013, I was offered a job at an education company, and Josh and I decided to start dating since we would no longer be working together. It was like everything fell into place the way it was supposed to. If I had never taken the risk to try something new, and if Chase (Bedroc's owner) hadn't taken a chance on hiring a teacher to work in IT, Josh and I may never have crossed paths. It's crazy the way things work out - and we are so thankful they did!

It was a Thursday, and I had gone out to happy hour with a few friends from work. When I got home, Josh had the table set with a fancy lobster dinner. It wasn't super out of the ordinary because he LOVES to cook, but I thought he was acting a little funny. After dinner, we went out to the backyard to sit around the fire, and he had a tray with everything you need to make s'mores. It was getting late, and I had school the next day, so I was about to start cleaning everything up. He kept insisting that I wait a few minutes, and I wasn't sure why. Finally I think he worked up the nerve and said, "I have a surprise." I looked at him and he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was shocked but so excited. It was so perfect for us - to be right there in the backyard, doing what we love, and with Rusty right there beside us! He was so relieved when I immediately said yes and started crying. He said he had been analyzing rings and how to propose for months and had been into pretty much every jewelry store in Nashville. The ring was perfect and just what I would have picked out (even though he had no idea because he did it all on his own). I was sooooo tired the next day at school, but I was so excited that I didn't care. One of my 2nd period students (a girl of course), shouted out during a quiz, "Ms. McCloud - what is on your finger? That wasn't there yesterday!" All of the other students started clapping and cheering- it was such a happy moment. Since that day, it has felt like everyone has been cheering us on, and we feel so blessed to have such supportive family and friends. We can't wait to spend our special day with everyone!