Mark and I met at a friend’s house before going out to celebrate my cousin, Mallory’s, birthday. I just so happened to sit next to him on the couch, where we were both hesitant and shy in front of each other. Surprisingly, what lead to our opening conversation was his Atlanta Falcons hat he was wearing. It was then that we found our first commonality: we both had lived in the South. I remember being interested in Mark that whole night out, even asking for him to come talk to me, but if you guys know Mark, you know that he’s a pretty quiet guy. In fact, he didn’t talk to me again until the end of the night, when he offered me some of his In ‘N Out French fries (the way to my heart).

A week went by, and to my surprise I could not get Mark out of my head! I can only describe it as God guiding me in the right direction to meet my lifelong partner. I got ahold of his number, he asked me out to dinner the next night, and my feelings were confirmed: we hit it off immediately. It wasn’t until almost two months later, on March 30, 2014, that Mark took me to watch the sunset at Torrey Pines where he asked me to be his girlfriend; I of course, said “sure ☺.”

We had tons of great moments together, whether we were taking trips to different places, going to football or basketball games, or even just hanging out; we were always laughing together, making the most out of every moment. Mark supported me through the most challenging part of my life thus far, as I began nursing school. I could not have gotten through these past two years without his support and encouragement. Although it wasn’t always pretty, our relationship became stronger and stronger.

In May 2015 we went to take a trip up to San Francisco to celebrate our birthdays (Mark’s birthday is 5/15 and mine is 5/17). I had a feeling that this would be the “special” weekend when he would propose. I even told some friends and family to clear their schedules that weekend, so we could celebrate. Mark however, still thought I had no idea (so cute). On 5/16, the day in between our birthdays, I woke up knowing I was going to be proposed to! He completely threw me off guard though, as the whole day seemed disorganized; we went to a local mall, ate at a hole-in-the-wall sandwich shop, and did not follow through with any plans we originally made. We ended up at the beautiful Palace of Fine Arts, where we strolled around for a bit. Maricel, Mark’s sister, offered to take pictures of us, and as I was walking away, Mark grabbed my arm, and before I knew it, he was getting down on one knee! Out of shock, I screamed “No!!” (As in “no way!” not “no, I won’t marry you” lol) and sort of tackled him in disbelief. I wish I remembered more of what he said, but I got the idea, and quickly said “YES!!” After expecting the proposal to happen on that day for quite a while, I could not believe that in those moments leading up to it, I completely forgot about it! (I think because it was so cold and windy during our walk, and I was so hungry and thinking about dinner!). I thank God for bringing us together in the previous year, and allowing us to be partners in life!

We are so blessed and beyond excited to see what our future together holds! Please continue to pray for us as we prepare for our journey together in the Sacrament of Marriage.

It was a night when we happened to end up at the same place because it was her cousin’s birthday. I remember I saw her walk through the door in her nerdy designer glasses. I was like “wait a minute, who is this beautiful lady?”, but I played it cool. The seat next to me was open so by fate she had to sit next to me. Nervous and shy like I usually am, there was a quick introduction then some silence. Minutes later I followed up asking where she was from and she said Tennessee. That ended up being the ice-breaker because I had just moved back from Georgia wearing a Falcons hat and asked “do you have a country accent?” That was the end of that convo and for the rest of the night I didn’t make a move, talk about shy. I remember seeing her on the dance floor without her glasses and it was like a slow motion scene to my favorite song. At the end of the night I believe I did something to make me stick in her mind, I offered her some of my French fries at in n out, which she couldn’t resist.

A week went by and I was quite surprised to hear a certain someone was thinking about me. I was actually like “whaaat, okay!” It was time to make my move so I texted her while walking to class then later asking her on a date which she denied at first. A couple hours went by and she changes her mind and I get my chance! We ended up at Seasons 21 restaurant and I remember we talked all night until the kitchen closed. After several dates and texting sappy emojis, I asked her to be my bae at the glider port over looking the ocean. Fast forward through all the lovin’ and craziness I felt closer than ever to her and decided to take the next step and propose at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. She claims she knew that I had a ring, but I definitely still surprised her.