Jake's Point of View: The night we first met, I knew there was something so special about Natalie. I had never clicked with someone like I did with her. Time flew by as we talked for hours and hours that night and I was so smitten (to the point where I thought I was going crazy). I strongly believed there was a reason for us meeting and that maybe God had finally sent me the girl I had always asked for, so yes, I skipped the "3-day no-call/text rule" and texted her as soon as I got home that night to see if she wanted to meet again and you know the rest. Natalie's Point of View: Jake & I reminisce on this night very often. I know people are skeptical about love at first sight, but something was seriously special about it. Despite my raging nerves for oh so many reasons (like how badly I sucked at racquetball for example), he brought me back to center via his collected and calm presence. By the end of the night, we had talked about pretty much anything & everything you could cover on a first date (along with some other topics you should probably cover on the third or fourth), which was refreshing to me. It may sound crazy, but by the end of the night I knew I had possibly met the future husband I had prayed for...for SO long.

Jake: The day we became official is one I'll never forget. We had gone on a trip to Colorado for her friend's wedding-I knew I had wanted to ask her to be my girlfriend and this seemed like a great place to do it, so a few weeks prior to the trip, I bought her a customized necklace with the date 7/4 (hoping to ask her that day) in case the opportunity came up. I carried that necklace with me during the whole trip waiting for the chance to. Once July 4th came around, we went on a beautiful hike and gosh I was nervous about finding a good spot to ask and about the ask itself! Once we got to the top of the hike, I found a nice spot near the lake where we could sit down. At that point, I began telling her how much she meant to me, asked her if she would be my girlfriend and presented her with the necklace I had gotten. That was such a special day and one of my favorites with her so far. Natalie: This day was SUCH a fun day! It was my very first time in Colorado for a very dear friend's wedding. Lucky for us, we were placed in a host's home who knew the ins and outs of local hiking and recommended us to St. Mary's Glacier. I was in utter shock at the beauty of this hike- it was straight out of a story book (I had even forgotten how out of shape I was). After taking several pictures with and of each other in this scenic place, Jake and I decided to take a break by the glacier-made lake, where he proceeded to ask me to be his girlfriend prior to surprising me with a necklace he had been carrying the entire trip! Engraved on this necklace was the date 7/4 in remembrance of this special day!

Jake: It was a busy weekend to say the least. Natalie was graduating from college and I wanted to pop the question while her family was in town. I carried the ring with me throughout the whole weekend waiting for the perfect time and place to do it. Finally, towards the end of the weekend we went driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I was suggesting stopping at a couple lookout points until we found the perfect location. We were taking pictures of the beautiful scenery when I got down on one knee and asked her to be my wife. I was so incredibly nervous that whole weekend, but as soon as I heard "yes", the nerves were replaced with overwhelming joy. Natalie: This was the craziest weekend of my life! My family had come into town for graduation, so it was activity-packed. Jake & I had been talking more about marriage at this time & I mentioned wanting my family present to celebrate a proposal, so I had some hope it would occur this weekend (not to mention the jeweler calling my number I had left while ring shopping to let me know the ring had arrived-oops), but after Sunday afternoon had rolled around & my parents were gearing up to leave, I thought maybe it wouldn't happen until the next time we travelled to see them. At this time, I was encouraging my dad to get on the road if he wanted to get back to Florida at a decent time, but Jake was insistent on showing them the Blue Ridge Parkway (I see now I was messing with Jake's plans by my pushing back of this idea, but we ended up going anyway). After stopping at every overlook we passed & Jake asking me, "is this pretty, do you want to take pictures here?" I began questioning what was up. He practically pulled me out of the car at one particular overlook, where my parents insisted on taking pictures of me looking out to the horizon. I turned around & there Jake was with beautiful white roses & a gorgeous ring-he asked me to marry him & OF COURSE I SAID YES to the sweetest gift I'd ever received from God! Best. Day. EVER.