Clay and I have always shared a love for the beach. Early on in our relationship, we expressed to each other that it was our favorite place to be, and going together made it even better. We had an annual trip planned with some incredible friends to stay in Ocean City, MD for the weekend (shout-out to Megan’s grandma!!). I thought it was just another great trip with friends, but Clay had bigger plans. My friend Megan asked if we could get dressed up Sunday morning and take some nice photos on the back balcony for memories. I agreed, since I always love an opportunity to look cute. I got ready that morning and came downstairs to everyone standing on the balcony waiting for me. This didn’t seem suspicious, as I’m usually the last one ready. When I walked out, there was nice music playing and everyone was casually chatting. My friend Jason (the photographer) then approached and asked if Clay and I could stand in a certain spot so he could get the lighting right—or so I was told. We posed for a bit and took some photos, and then out of nowhere, Clay began to cough and dropped to his knees. I got confused and checked on him, saying, “Are you okay?” He looked up and said, “Yeah, I’m alright,” with the ring in his hand! I immediately began crying happy tears as he asked me to do him the honor of being his best friend forever and marrying him. After crying and freaking out for a minute, I said yes! We kissed and hugged, and then he said, “I have one more surprise for you.” He pointed to his phone, which was being held by our friend Kyle, who revealed that my best friend, Madison, was on FaceTime and got to witness the entire moment. Needless to say, I was surprised by it all and truly blown away by the time and effort everyone gave to make that moment special, especially Clay.