What started as a family beach trip, ended as one of my favorite weekends! Brett, Brooks (our then 9 week old golden retriever puppy), and myself loaded the car and made our way to Cherry Grove Beach for a getaway before the school year started. Brett made me believe we had one big final getaway planned the next weekend where “Big things” were going to happen, so I believed this was truly just another weekend at the beach. Brooks woke up early on Saturday morning, ready to eat and play. I got up with him, planning to let Brett sleep in. However, Brett was very eager to get up with Brooks, telling me to go back to sleep. I thought it was strange but did not argue! Later that morning, my mom had made appointments for the girls to go get our nails done. With it being "just another weekend at the beach" I didn't think anything of this. While at the salon, the idea came up to go take pictures on the beach before dinner with our new puppies. I was NOT thrilled with the idea of going out to the beach to take pictures before dinner in the August heat and humidity. I suggested we take pictures after what I thought were our 6pm dinner reservations, knowing it would be cooler. I was quickly shut down as Peyton’s boyfriend, Zak, was leaving after dinner and pictures needed to happen before. After getting ready for dinner, I went to feed Brooks. Still working on our dinner time manners, Brooks jumped up for his food and landed in his water bowl, knocking the whole thing over on me. Already frustrated and not wanting to go take these pictures, I was soaked and had to change. At that point, I had decided I was not going to go. But after a lot of convincing, I changed my outfit and we loaded up the golf cart to head to the beach. I asked to take pictures first, knowing in just a few minutes of the August heat and humidity, we were all about to be sweaty. Once we were done and getting ready to head back, Brett asked to get one more picture just the two of us. I handed Brooks to Zak and started to back up towards the water for a picture. Brett walked around me and what seemed like going to stand on my “bad side” for pictures. I turned to tell him to go to the other side and that’s when I realized he was down on one knee proposing! After saying YES, Zak handed Brooks back to us with an adorable “My Humans are Getting Married” bandana on. We made our way back to the house to find our families had quickly decorated the house and put together a small engagement celebration. Such a perfect ending to what turned into be one of my favorite days!

After many weeks of planning with Mere’s mom and sister the day had finally arrived where I was going to ask the love of my life to be with me forever. The girls left to go to the nail salon to get manicures and pedicures….because in the many discussions I had with Mere about proposing I was told emphatically that I needed to make sure whenever I did it that her nails needed to be done! I was left there to watch our newly acquired puppy, Bubs McBubington, or as his birth certificate reads Brooks Grey Alexander. Mere believed our reservations for dinner were at 6pm. Peyton’s boyfriend, Zak, had showed up that day with Brooks’s brother Winston. I had told Zak to ask the girls if we could get pictures with them and the pups at the beach for their first beach trip. Apparently while I was upstairs getting ready, Brooks decided what Mere had on needed a bowl full of water added to it. This added with it being like 98 degrees outside and the sun shining down bright, Mere was not feeling these pictures at the beach at all. When she came upstairs to change she was thinking about wearing something I knew she would have hated having proposal pictures taken in so I tried to subtly suggest something I knew she would loved to wear. It took all of us convincing her for Mere to agree to go down to the hot beach before dinner. Immediately upon stepping outside we were all sweating which was making it very difficult to keep spirits high. Luckily Mr. Lewis rented a big golf cart that weekend so we didn't have to walk to the beach. So I finally got Mere, Peyton, Zak, and both our pups all on the golf cart. I put it in reverse and start backing out the driveway when everyone starts saying there is a car coming, there is a car coming, and then everyone yelling THERE IS A CAR COMING! Now in my defense this is one of those older golf carts that runs on gas so when you hit the gas pedal it takes a few seconds for it to start going. Well, same thing for the brakes. I hit the brake pedal and it took awhile for us to come to a stop. So literally almost killed us before trying to go ask the girl of my dreams to marry me. Maybe it was the nerves, or maybe it was the seagrams, or maybe it was the actual golf cart… we will never know. With her dad watching from the front porch up the stairs, I couldn't have been more embarrassed that I almost wrecked before even getting started. I had told Mr. Lewis and Mrs. Kathy what I was going to say to Mere when I proposed and helping me out in that moment, Mr. Lewis said, “I hope y’all find some shark teeth”. Now mind you, Mere doesn't want to be doing any of this because Brooks ruined what she was wearing, it's hot, we are all sweating, and I almost killed us, so it’s not really calming my nerves that she is really not feeling what we're doing! We first take our picture with our pup as Mere wants to get over with asap, then Peyton and Zak take theirs. Before leaving I ask Mere if we can have one of us. As she is getting ready, I back up a few feet while she is still looking straight ahead. She finally looks back to find me on one knee with a ring box out in my hand and I say “I may not have found any shark teeth but I did find the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. Will you marry me?” At first she thought I was joking because I may have gotten down on one knee once or twice to “tie my shoe” before. When she saw the ring box and then I opened the box to the ring she knew it was the real deal and said “Yes, of course I will!” I was so nervous that I didn't even notice that I had the ring box upside down! We went back to the house where my parents had joined her family and celebrated before going to our dinner reservations that were actually at 8. We ate at one of our favorite restaurants overlooking the water and had an incredible night surrounded by our families and that is the start of forever with the love of my life!