We're getting married!

We met at a time that we were both broken. The Lord placed us in each other’s path and I was so nervous when I met her that I stuck my head in a fridge to avoid having to speak to her. After a night of hanging out, I asked her if I could call her sometime… Then proceeded to call her every day for a month! That month was during Christmas break so Elle was in O’Fallon and I was in Flower Mound. After multiple missed calls and awkwardly funny voicemails, she called me back! The Lord used this time of communication over the phone to build trust in us, and build a foundation for our relationship. We came back and proceeded to date. Dating was a long sanctification process, but we both grew. The Lord used each of us to push one another, and follow our calling. She built me up, challenged me to be a greater man, and gave me grace daily. The time came where I knew there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Elle. She is perfect for me. I know everything about Gabrielle: insecurities, flaws, strengths, weaknesses, you name it. I know it all, and I love it all. I will love & pursue her daily for the rest of our life.

John and I have a friend who was interning under a wedding planner in Northwest Arkansas. The wedding planner was promoting the elopement wedding sessions that she plans, and had organized a styled photo shoot with other local wedding companies. Our friend said that they were looking for an "in love couple" to model for the photo shoot. A few friends jokingly nominated John and I to do it, but I seriously wanted to. The little girl in me that always wanted to model was coming out. So I asked John if he would do it with me, and once he agreed he secretly planned to do the proposal during the shoot. The shoot took place at a beautiful waterfall close to Fayetteville. For the first part of the shoot, John and I were separated while they took photos of the dress I was wearing. As soon as I joined him next to the waterfall, the photographer told me to place my hand on John's cheek. This was apparently the "code word" so John began to speak to me and pulled out the ring box. I was so overwhelmed I don't even remember what he said! At first when I saw him pull out a ring box I thought it was part of the photo shoot. But when he knelt down I knew it was real and immediately started crying. I was overwhelmed with joy and John had to hold me up because my whole body was shaking! After the proposal, John had planned surprises for the rest of the day including my mom and sister meeting us for lunch and all of my friends throwing me a party at my house that evening. I can't wait to be John's bride and forever life partner!