Our story is a “meet-cute” of two people whose paths would have never crossed if we continued doing the same thing. We both dared to do something different. A mutual friend set us up on a blind date. Eric hesitantly contacted LaShara for a first meeting on that weekend. If you know LaShara, she has a very full schedule and had to reschedule for the following weekend. We met at Black Hand Coffee on a Saturday afternoon and talked over tea until the place closed. We had such a great time, we met each other the next day at Richmond’s Black Restaurant Week. We haven’t stopped seeing each other since that first meeting.

The proposal began unbeknownst to me when Eric accepted the invite for Christmas with The Smiths. Our drive down to Jacksonville from Richmond took over 12 hours due to heavy traffic, torrential rain, multiple car accidents and a flat tire. We arrived safely on the eve of Christmas Eve. We awoke Christmas morning for breakfast and all the Smith ladies had on their matching pajamas. After a wonderful breakfast, we then moved to the piano room to open gifts in front of the Christmas tree. We typically start with oldest to youngest, but this year we had a guest, so Eric opened his gifts first. Then it was my turn. Eric had a nicely wrapped box with an elephant from Build-a-Bear Workshop inside. Because it was light, I was thinking “jewelry” but couldn’t find it. While searching for the “real gift”, I noticed that the elephant had a heartbeat when you squeezed his chest. I looked closer and around his neck was a heart-shaped charm that read “Will You Marry Me?” When I looked back at Eric, he was on bended knee and asked me to marry him. I said YES! #SmithSaidYesToScott