Let the adventure begin!

Will, when we came to the gardens that hot summer day, Nothing felt more to me like a date, but we were still just friends!! And neither of us declared out loud otherwise that day. The day we spent here was an incredible day filled with getting to know you, and only you, NOT in a group of friends like every other time we’d ever hung out together. Just you. I learned that your favorite flowers are gardenias for how they smell and how much you appreciate and value wildlife while we stood on the bridge right outside this wedding garden looking down at the water to watch the turtles and the fish in the pond together. We were just friends at the time, but I remember you putting your hand so lightly on the small of my back while I stepped up to the bridge and leaned far over to see different angles of the water. my heart jumped, because it was that moment when I knew that this could be the beginning of one of the most powerful relationships I would ever experience. We continued to walk around some more with my new discovery that maybe, just maybe, you would find me interesting enough to some day be with me officially. You were, and still are, definitely out of my league in my eyes. You never cease to surprise me with how much you know of the world. I try to absorb so much from you. I’ve since tried to keep gardenias alive on our patio without success. We’ve come back here a handful of times since we’ve been together. Once I remember you describing the set-up of your dream home while using these walls that we’re currently surrounded by to help with your description. I remember thinking, “I want to be there to make that dream come true some day; I hope he agrees to bring me along for long enough.” You ended up drawing it on a piece of paper when we got home.

We’ve seen lots of ups and downs in our 7 years together, and now, despite my doubts of wondering if I’d earn your love for a lifetime, we’re back where it all began with the promise that we will go through those trials no matter what with each other - forever. Will, no one makes me feel more at home than you do. You are the light in my life, and you are always there to support me no matter how lame or down I feel. I love your energy whenever you describe things that truly interest you. I feel like every time I talk to you that I’ve learned something new and grow as a person. I hope with all my heart that I do the same for you. Will, I promise to love you, to be your best friend, to respect and support you, to be patient as I can, to work together with you to achieve our goals, and to accept you unconditionally. When I look at you Will, even though we’ve done so many amazing things together, sometimes I already feel that life is way too short for me to share all the experiences I want to share with you in just one lifetime. I hope I’ll be able to share more incredible adventures with you even after this life. I love you forever, Will.

Despite overlapping social circles, we were little more than strangers when we met with mutual friends in downtown St. Petersburg for a movie in the park. The movie never happened - and neither Laura nor Will recall what was scheduled to play that day in North Straub Park - as a summer thunderstorm drove the group of drenched Tritons to seek shelter in the boutiques and galleries of nearby Beach Drive. It was in those shops that a cold, wet Laura and Will connected. Before the evening was over, plans were made for the group of friends (but mostly Laura, according to Will) to meet at Will's apartment to watch Jurassic Park. That is when Will gave Laura his number. By the time their senior year began, Laura and Will were a couple so inseparable that people thought they'd been together for years.

It was our 4th day in Oslo, Norway, and we planned a busy day at museums! First we went to the Viking Ship Museum; we had just watched the first episode a show called "Vikings" the night before just for fun, and we were super pumped to compare it to the real thing! After talking with Will later, this is originally where he wanted to propose. Next to a Viking ship is pretty epic! But it was a very open and busy museum - it didn't seem right. So he waited. We then went to the what was known as the "Folk Museum." We could've easily spent all day here. In addition to a large museum, there was an outdoor exhibit with barns, homes, and even a Norwegian cabin called a hytte. On top of a hill was a wooden church. This was not your typical white wood chapel on a hill, but a tall ornate black church. It looked like a building straight out of the movie, "How to Train Your Dragon." Will went crazy over it. I chucked it up to he majored in religious studies and was royally nerding out over it. Will and I walk down the hill to see some other buildings and barns; but he just had to go back to the church, "to take a photo of me in front of the mural." I thought we'd spent plenty of time there, but ... religious studies major. When we got there, loads of tourists were there for what seemed like a solid half hour. This is also where Will thought of proposing; but there were too many people now. It didn't seem right. So he waited. We went to the last museum: The Fram - a massive ice-breaking ship. There was a banner on the outside saying, "the best museum in Norway," and it truly was. We were able to explore not only the outside of the ship, but walk on top, and around, and even go inside and explore the whole thing! There was a small lit-up triangular room on the 2nd floor of the museum that gave a perfect view of the bow of the ship from the outside of it. It was there where he decided to pop the big question. (Photo in photo tab) I had no clue! And of course, I said yes.