Weddingbee bios

My FI and I met at a BBQ before our freshman year of high school. I thought he was so cute! I was pretty shy at first, and he was the complete opposite. He is super outgoing and loves making people laugh. So, of course, he went out of his way to flirt with me. We officially started dating December of our freshman year and have been together ever since. We shared everything in high school and became each others' best friend. We've gotten to grow up together both as individuals and as a couple. I love knowing we went to every single high school dance together and we'll always have those memories that we shared!

*This is our freshman homecoming - We were so little!

*And this is our Senior Prom!

*And this is us now! Well, in May at my sister's wedding!

My hunny and I have been dating for over 5 1/2 years, so I didn't think there was any way he'd surprise me with the proposal. We picked out my ring in December, shortly after our 5 year anniversary, so I knew he had it and I knew it was coming! I was sure he would propose while we were on our spring break trip to NYC, especially since it was over my birthday. But a week before we were going to leave, on March 7th, he totally surprised me and it was more perfect than anything I'd imagined!

I'd had a couple long, extremely stressful weeks with school/midterms/work and he knew I wanted to sleep in on Saturday. Our relationship is long distance (he goes to school back home and I'm 2 hours away) and he told me he would be working Saturday morning. So, I was shocked when my roommate knocked on my door at 10:30 and said, "Rise and shine! I think you might want to read this!" and handed me a note from him. The note told me that since we wouldn't really get to celebrate my birthday, which was the next Friday (we were going to be flying and wouldn't get in until 10:30 PM or so) he wanted to give me something he knew I would enjoy. He'd scheduled massages for my roommate and I so I didn't have to go alone (but really because she was helping him with his plan). So I got up, threw on clothes and we went to get massages! At this point I was REALLY hoping this was it - I even updated my facebook status to 'I think today's going to be a really good day!' but I still didn't want to get my hopes up!

(Excuse my face, I'd just rolled out of bed!)

After my massage I was unsure if something else was coming - I was really hoping I'd be engaged by the end of the day, but I couldn't tell if it was really just my birthday present! When we were leaving, my roommate made up some story about having to stop at Dillons. I was a little disappointed because I figured that meant nothing else was coming. However, I later found out she was stalling because he wasn't finished cooking for me and needed a few more minutes so he could have everything ready and leave! When we got back to our house, I opened the door and saw rose petals leading to the kitchen/dining area and the table was set for 2 (so I could share with my roommate of course!) and my favorite food was sitting out - Chicken fettuccini alfredo! There was a rose and another note on my plate and the note said this was the last surprise - a birthday lunch! He said he was still at work, but was excited to hear about my massage. So, I was truly confused about who cooked the meal (partly because it was so good and I didn't know if he could've made it!)

When we'd finished eating, my roommate said she needed to use the restroom and went upstairs. A few seconds later she was at the top of the stairs saying she'd found another note! This note said he had one more surprise and that now that I'd had a relaxing massage and a filling lunch, it was time to get ready! He gave me just over an hour so I hurried upstairs to get in the shower. My roommate had told me she had plans with her cousin for the afternoon, so I expected her to be gone. When I got out of the shower, someone (my roommate) had put a 4th note and rose petals on my bed. This one was a puzzle that I had to solve in order to find out where I was supposed to meet him! The answer to the puzzle was: "Meet me at the campanile!"

The campanile is a huge bell tower on campus that has a lot of historical significance. It also sits on the hill overlooking the football stadium where we'll always come back to watch games, and graduates walk through it on their way down the hill on graduation. When I arrived at the campanile, I saw rose petals and 5 roses (for our 5 years together!) leading to a bench. When I picked up the last rose, he appeared and I got to see him for the first time that day! He said some really sweet stuff while I stood there shaking and crying. :) Then he finally got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! Afterwards, he had his accomplice (my roommate!) come down from where she was taking pictures. We took tons more pictures and called our families to let them know! (Although, they all knew and were just waiting for a phone call!) It was absolutely amazing and I'm so thankful for such a creative and thoughtful fiance! I can honestly say I was totally surprised!

It took 4 different dress shopping trips, but I found my dream dress! It's exactly what I was looking for and I feel like a princess :)

This is my first attempt at an inspiration board!

I'm terrible about documenting where I find pictures, so please let me know if I need to credit any of the pictures to you!

I was there when my FI picked out my ring, but he was actually the one to pick the setting out of their catalogue. I saw the setting and my center stone separately, but didn't get to see them together until he proposed 2 months afterwards and I finally got to wear it! I LOVE it!