Sunday, September 30th, 2018 4:00pm Ceremony and Reception The Farmstead 8063 Mauney Rd, Mt Pleasant, NC 28124

It was the beginning of the school year at Appalachian State University and Boone was beautiful. I was entering my sophomore year, excited to reconnect with old friends, and Ben was a freshman ready to meet new people. Little did I know I would be making new friends too, and a very special new friend at that. We met on campus just two weeks into the school year when we rode together to a popular hiking spot off the Blue Ridge Parkway. The campus ministry we were apart of throughout college (RUF) organized this event, I was willing to give rides, and Ben and a few other freshman just so happened to hop in my car. (Woo hoo!) As the school year went on, we became apart of the same friend group and slowly started to get to know one another. Ben caught my eye early on and by the following spring all of our friends could tell something was there between us. After a year of sweet friendship, we started dating September 2014. Since that time we have learned so much of who each other is, been fully embraced by each other's family, experienced countless joyful moments, supported each other through true hardships, and become best friends. And now... here we are! We are so excited to be married and can't wait celebrate with each and everyone of you this September!

Sometimes things really line up well... At the beginning of March I took the opportunity to study abroad in India and had an amazing experience there. While I was away, Ben took this as a chance to get everything prepared. Ben "broke in" to my apartment with my Dad to find a ring for sizing, asked for my Dad's blessing, and picked out an engagement ring. {Perks to having your girlfriend on the complete opposite side of the world, I guess!} When I returned, we had SO much to catch up on and took a day trip to Boone to get away. That day we enjoyed a sweet lunch at one of our favorite restaurants and then headed to Grandfather Mountain for a hike. At the end of our hike, we found ourselves sitting at the peak, having the best conversation, and looking over the beautiful mountains. Just as we were about to leave, Ben got down on one knee and popped the question! After that I was screaming "YES" and "OH MY GOSH" over and over and eventually I remembered other words and how to complete a full sentence... We took the rest of the day for just the two of us to take it in and then celebrated with family in Charlotte that evening. THE BEST DAY.