Loren and I met my sophomore year of college (her freshman year). As soon as I met her, I knew she was always going to be someone special in my life. It took me about 3 1/2 years of being her friend to work up the nerve to ask her out, but when I did - it turned out to be the best decision of my life.

Chris planned a surprise weekend getaway in Destin, Florida for Labor Day Weekend. We drove down early Saturday morning and spent the day on the beach just enjoying each other’s company. He told me that we needed to head in to get ready for our dinner reservations pretty early, so we did. I was ready about two hours before our dinner reservations, but this was perfect for his plan. He asked me to go walk on the beach, and when we got to the edge of the water, Chris grabbed both of my hands and said, “I’m doing this now!” He told me how he had started saving for a ring when he met me and all of the sweet things he had been waiting to tell me until this moment, and then he got down on one knee! I cried, and he jokes that I didn’t even answer him. I’ll make sure he always knows my answer.