Meet us in Destin,Florida!

Just how any good college love story begins, John and Taina both took a trip down to the Florida Panhandle for spring break during their sophomore year at Auburn University. Taina with her group of girlfriends, and John with his group of boys, they barely knew each other at the time. They hit it off as great friends on their trip and it stayed that way for quite some time. After many months of being "just friends" and their friends pestering them to go out, the two finally went on their first date, over a year later. John's patience and persistence finally paid off when the two officially became a couple at the end of May, 2023. From there, their love continued to grow throughout the summer and into their senior year of college. As things started to get serious, they decided that after graduation they would move to the same place, back where it all began... The Florida Panhandle. After calling Destin their home for about a year, John and Taina undoubtedly knew that their relationship was a sure thing. So two years into their relationship, John popped the question on the sandy beaches of Destin. They love the life that they have created together, living on the coast and are excited to celebrate their love story on their big day the same way it all started. Right by the water in sunny Florida!

As told by the groome... For those that know Taina well you would likely agree that she is a difficult person to surprise… so of course this is not a short story. The problem is that if I write too much then none of you will read this, so I’ll have to start from just a week before the engagement. T’s parents were scheduled to stay with us that week so unbeknownst to them I planned (with the help of my parents) to propose at the end of the week. It was important to me to ask Angel for his blessing not only in person but close to when I would actually pop the question. I wanted to keep this a surprise from T so I had to plan accordingly, making their trip to see us the perfect time to ask. Angel and Linda planned to drive when coming to see us, staying Saturday to Friday. Oh! Which brings me to our main wish for the proposal: to have all the parents waiting for us after we got engaged to celebrate. So, I secretly had my parents book flights to arrive on Thursday morning and planned the proposal for that night to have everyone there. It was going to be on the beach at sunset but I needed to make sure that I had access to the beach and that it wasn’t overly crowded. The solution: have my parents stay the night at a super romantic beach resort so I could steal the private beach access, this didn’t take much convincing. Now the plan was set and everyone was going to be there for the big moment. That is until only a few days before Angel and Linda were scheduled to arrive when I overheard them tell T on the phone that they decided to buy flights instead of driving. Great! Until I have a mini heart attack at the age of 23 when I find out that they were now leaving Thursday afternoon instead of Friday, missing the entire proposal. Now, having a panic attack while needing to keep a straight face in front of T to not give anything away, I found the solution. I decided to use it to my advantage. T knew that I wanted to have the parents there when we got engaged so if I had them switch the fights after I asked Angel for his blessing, we could pretend that they had already left for the airport that day and fully throw her off the scent. Leading her to think I obviously wouldn’t propose the night after they just left. Sunday came and I pulled Angel outside and asked for his blessing, luckily, I caught him in a good mood and he said yes. I filled him in on the plan and that my parents would be coming to town and we were back on track. Wednesday evening T and I say goodbye to her parents as they would be “leaving” the next day while we would both be at work.

Fast forward to the day of, I wake up like normal get ready for work and say goodbye to T. Only I didn’t go to work, I was taking the day off to make sure everything was set in place and to pick up my parents from the airport. Once I had the whole crew I brought everyone to the beach and did a run through of what my vision was. We even managed to get some of the hotel staff in on it to help us out. I handed off the blanket, candles, and flowers to the parents and prepared for T to get back home from work where I would be pretending to do the same. She called me on the way home from work and I could tell from her voice that she could tell something was up. Her mom brought her to get her nails done a few days prior and insisted she get them done fancier than normal. And for some reason her boss insisted that she leave the install site right on time at 5:00. But still you can never know for sure. When I first see her she had the most infectious grin on her face and couldn’t stop giggling. At this point I think she had a good idea that something was going to happen but I had to keep trying to play it close like nothing was going on. I asked her if she wanted to go get a drink with me to wind down after having company the whole week, ignoring the fact that she still needed to pack for a batchlorette trip the next morning. She agreed and began to get ready despite some objections and I anxiously sat, thinking about the ring sitting in my car waiting for her. Everyone was in their spots and I knew it was only a matter of time before I heard her answer. I picked a spot for drinks that was also on the water so she wouldn’t be alarmed for most of the drive until we got to scenic highway 98 where I made a “wrong turn”. “Why’d you go right?” She asked me, I turned and told her to just wait and that I loved her. Thirty seconds later I pulled up to the front door of the hotel lobby and told her to get out where I could see her mother waiting through the frosted window. She was holding the dress that T had told me she would love to get engaged in and my own mother holding her shoes. I parked the car, grabbed the ring and met the dads who had a shirt for me as well. I snuck over to the beach eagerly waiting to see her walk out the same door I did. It felt like an eternity but finally she came out looking as beautiful as she ever has to meet me in the sand. I grabbed her hands as our parents watched from a distance told her how much she meant to me before I asked her the long awaited question. Will you marry me?