The wedding we’ve all been waiting for

Miranda’s Perspective: We were starting marching band and this freshman boy gave my best friend a pop tart. I had joked “where’s mine?” Little did I know that kid would come back in the morning with a pop tart for someone he had barely met. When I told him he didn’t have to bring me one he said “I know, but I wanted to.” We were close friends throughout high school. He would always be someone I could turn to make me laugh, talk about problems with, complain about homework to. Every time we talked I instantly felt better. One day we were at a friends pool the summer before my senior year started. I had a rough day and he asked if I needed a hug. He walked me to my car, we talked for a bit, and we hugged. We had hugged before, but this time felt different. As soon as I got into his arms it felt like two puzzle pieces fitting together. I knew I was in trouble from that moment on. We started dating my senior year and I’m just happy that the sweet boy with the pop tart is going to be my husband. Brennen’s Perspective It was my very first day of marching band freshman year in high school. Things were going very well to start. Eventually I started to develop a friend group over time with my trumpet section. Miranda was one of the people in that group. She asked for a poptart one day as a joke. I came back and brought her one the next day. She was shocked. Little did I know the chain reaction that started. I think we both subtly knew we liked each other. I was very hesitant after a bad experience in a past relationship. Miranda was there though to halt my worries. I realized I wanted to be with her, but was thrown off by my anxiety of another relationship. We ended up distancing ourselves. We took a break for quite some time in her last marching band season. I got to a point where I realized I couldn’t be without her. I eventually confessed my feelings towards her and she had the same. We started small, just with a few hangouts here and there. Then I slowly got integrated into her family as she did mine. Everyone was very supportive and we’ve been together ever since. Almost approaching seven years and every moment together has been wonderful. I knew she was the one and I wanted to propose. I planned it for my big day of graduation from college. In Vermont, we went up to a place called heavens bench. A nice scenic overlook of the valley and mountains. It initially rained, but we got a small break for me to take her up. We took a small hike up the mountain, looked at the view, and then I proposed. I am so excited to marry her this upcoming October of 2026.

During Christmas, my Aunt Del graciously presented us with a collection of rings that we could choose from for our engagement. She knows how hard and expensive it is to be as young as we are yet more than ready for the next step in life. We looked through and found a gorgeous ring that I was unaware she had. We took it home with us, I gave it to Brennen, and we both felt relieved and blessed for this occurrence. Saving on the engagement ring was one of our priorities as we wanted to use that potentially high amount of money towards other things. I had found an engagement ring on Etsy that was beautiful and unique, but with this ring that we received it would have saved us more and I felt honored that my aunt entrusted me with a precious heirloom. I was unaware that he had the intention of getting the ring I had picked out, and when he proposed I was shocked and speechless when I saw which one he gave me. We are grateful to my aunt, and that ring is still going to be worn with honor as my wedding band. Thank you Aunt Del, Brennen and I love you very much.

It was Brennen’s college graduation weekend. I didn’t think he would propose the same day as his big event so I wasn’t preparing myself for an engagement. Brennen needed help packing up his room to move out the night before (because he notoriously waits until day of), and I was tossing some stuff aside when I threw a small package out of the way to get to some of his bags. I didn’t think much of it in the moment, but later that day I wondered if it was the ring. I convinced myself he wouldn’t send the ring to himself at school. We then discussed a timeline for the following day and when he should be out of the dorm. Between the time graduation was supposed to end plus the many people I knew he wanted to say goodbye to, I didn’t think we’d get him packed up by the time he suggested. He was very adamant that we had to leave by a certain time (and he never stays on time), which was my next suspicion. However we had planned to go to Heaven’s Bench and lunch with our families so I decided it made sense. It was very rainy on his graduation day and we were both worried that we wouldn’t be able to go see Heaven’s Bench. Heaven’s Bench is a beautiful view of the mountain range that I had been asking to see since he went with his roommates his sophomore year. Since this was our last time in Vermont for the foreseeable future, I wasn’t skeptical that he wanted to take me there. There was a sunny break in the clouds by the time he was ready to leave campus. We made our way over to Heaven’s Bench. At this point I was 50% on if he was going to propose or not. I didn’t see him put the ring in his pocket or pack it away in his stuff. We walk up the hill to the view and there was a couple of people and one person with a camera taking pictures “of the view.” At this point I was 92% he was going to propose and I didn’t know how to react. We have both waited for this moment for such a long time and I was beyond excited. He was hugging me from behind as I took a few pictures, I felt him step back, and I kept taking pictures to give him time to get on his knee. I turned around and blacked out. I remember seeing his face and letting him speak. I remember looking over at the photographer that I knew was taking pictures. I remember seeing the ring box and noticing that it was different than the one he had before, and then he opened it and it was the original ring I had been looking at. He tells me I said yes, and then he repeated his words to me in the car so I could hear what said. We joined our families and celebrated a bunch of wonderful things.