Branch's Happily Ever After

Due to a torn ACL, I was unable to play soccer my senior year, and along with getting a car the previous summer, I needed a job to pay for the payments and insurance. And so after a threat of working at UPS by my dad, I decided to apply at Chick-Fil-A. I was offered a position at the Springhurst location, so of course I agreed, because that meant that I would have a job, and started soon after. Little did I know that my future husband also worked there, and the rest is history. -Rachel

We started becoming friends after we closed a few nights together during the summer, and shortly started hanging out together with a group of friends as well as just the two of us. We went on our first date in July and after another date, Rachel decided to stay as "just friends" because she was about to go to college. We did a few more fun things together, including going to Cedar Point (and low-key wanting to ride every ride together) and hosting a back-to-school party with all of our coworkers. Sadly, Rachel left for college, but we continued to text every day and started calling each other every night just to catch up. Rachel was planning on coming home for the solar eclipse the weekend after her first week of classes, and Brandon was planning on going camping at Red River Gorge. His trip fell through, which allowed us to hang out that Friday for a while. We decided to hang out at Tom Sawyer Park and hammock while watching The Conjuring (which Rachel was not excited for). The weather was perfect and after the movie, we continued to just lay next to each other for close to four hours without saying anything. Eventually we held hands and that's when we knew that we wanted to date, even with the distance. We left to go to Chick-fil-A to visit with some friends, and Brandon was going to ask "the Question" as we were standing by our cars, but a friend came up and asked for a ride to his car, so he didn't get the chance. When Rachel arrived home, she texted Brandon a sweet message about how much she enjoyed the afternoon, and Brandon sent a similar text back. Not wanting to ask "the Question" over text, they face-timed and Rachel said the first "yes" :) -Brandon & Rachel

Rachel has done nothing but exemplify all of the qualities any man should look for in a woman. From her devotion to the Lord, to showing an endless beam of care, passion, relentlessness, determination, and joy. I knew I wanted to marry Rachel while we were just sitting at a nice dinner. She looked at me, and I looked back at her and I could just see the love in her eyes. Now the proposal... Rachel and I are not the most traditional of people. So Charlie and I planned a trip to Gatlinburg for Rachel and Mary. We decided to rent a nice cabin and I looked at Charlie and told him I'm going to propose there. I was holding that ring and that secret for a couple months until the trip. During that weekend, on Sunday morning, I knew Rachel would want to do a devotional on the balcony while the sun was rising, so I woke up at 4am to start making breakfast. Mary helped me cook a big breakfast for Rachel. Charlie moved everything on the balcony for better pictures (even though Rachel, unknowingly, moved things back), and so Charlie made an elaborate ruse to move everything again. When Rachel went outside, wrapped in a blanket might I add, I came outside, with the ring in my pocket, while the sun was rising, and I asked her to marry me. -Brandon