#MyFavoritePhoto
Tyler and I met almost four years ago when we were both students in college. I thank God everyday for the day that we met! I’ve always believed in fate, but was starting to convince myself that my “knight in shining armor” didn’t exist in the small city of Kennesaw, GA. At the time of us meeting, I was a full-time college student taking nearly 20 credit hours in classes and nannying about 30 hours a week. Given my schedule, it was hard to have time to date, or really hard to meet new people at all. Tyler and I met through a mutual friend and found a common ground in being busy and not having a lot of time to see each other, because Tyler was also taking a full load of classes and working full-time. Tyler was in his senior year on the verge of graduating and I was ending my junior year. Most of our time together consisted of study dates and late night runs to grab a quick dinner.
We quickly began dating and spending all of our extra time (what little we had) together. It wasn’t long at all before we realized that we would spend the rest of our lives together. On May 24, 2014, Tyler invited my closest friends and family to Chattanooga – one of my favorite places to be and not far from where I was raised. He had an entire weekend of fun things planned out and my family being a part of the engagement was a total surprise to me (a great one, good job babe)! He had told me earlier that day that he and his guy friends were going to spend the day golfing at a nearby golf course and that my girlfriends were going to take me shopping. Everyone played it off so well that I didn’t suspect a thing. The plan was to meet up later that night for dinner at a specific time and place. When we showed up at the restaurant, the guys were nowhere to be found and I found myself getting frustrated because we had reservations. I got a phone call telling us to walk down by the {Tennessee} river to meet them – I had no idea why on earth they would make us meet them there. I got to the top of a very giant staircase and when I looked down, I saw all of mine and Tyler’s family members sitting, waiting, watching. I immediately gasped out of shock! As I struggled to walk down this intense staircase (in my wedges), my heart was racing! I walked down to the bottom and waiting there was Tyler, on one knee, looking up at me and smiling. I have no idea what he said to me, but I know it was sweet! I immediately said yes and the celebrations began. He did such a good job planning out the entire weekend, complete with loved ones, dinner with everyone, and a photographer to follow us around.
Tyler and I were engaged for 10 months and got married on March 28, 2015, in Chattanooga where he proposed. My wedding day was literally my most favorite memory in the entire world! Everything was perfect {in my biased opinion} from my dress, to my bridal party, to the flowers and cake, to the music and decorations. Most importantly, my groom was the most perfect thing that I had ever seen standing on the other side of that aisle, waiting for me to become his wife. Our day lasted forever but seemed to fly by! We began getting ready that Saturday at 9 A.M. and didn’t end up leaving the venue until midnight! With 300 of our friends and family members talking, laughing and dancing together, I remember standing back at one point and soaking in all of the love and support we had around us. The moment that we said goodbye to our guests with a sparkler send off was one of my favorite memories. To me, it symbolized the closing of one chapter in our book and the opening of another. We were about to walk away together and begin our journey as husband and wife! I remember feeling so much joy in that moment and feeling so accomplished, happy, nervous and excited for what was to come. If I lost these photos, I would be devastated. These photos mark such important events in our lives and have so much meaning behind them. To me, these photos are irreplaceable and I can’t imagine not having them as a part of our lives to look back on and be thankful for. I will ALWAYS make the choice to back these photos up and assure that they are protected.