On October 6th, 2017 Jackson Dennis asked me to be his wife.
Let's talk details :)
Going into the summer of 2017, we both said by the end of the summer we wanted to know for sure if we wanted to move forward in our relationship. By mid summer we were positive we wanted to! This was one of the sweetest times for us. It was filled with peace and rest, just knowing we had both chosen each other.
Individually we had conversations with our families and were able to celebrate with them.
At the end of the summer, Jackson's planning began. Which meant his world was busy and crazy while mine calmed. It was odd. There wasn't reason to talk about all of it anymore! My world went silent as I patiently waited.
In our time of waiting, I was able to really just stop and be with the Lord. He was who I talked about all of my emotions with. It was so sweet to watch him prepare my heart.
Around the end of September, Jackson and I were talking about our fall break plans, and I mentioned my best friend may come up to visit. I could see a look in his eyes that said, "that's not what I was thinking." He calmly said, "Oh! I was thinking you'd come to the beach with me. You'd get to spend some time with my family and we could all get to be together." My response, "huh, well I'm not sure if I should this time because I don't know when I'm going to see Tracy, and it would be a lot of fun to have her up here! But I'll see, we're still unsure anyways."
As time went on, he mentioned the idea of me coming to the beach again about a week later. When this happened, part of me wondered why he was being pushier than usual. For a second I wondered if maybe he had something up his sleeve. I wondered for a day or so and let it go.
Well, the Lord intervened in my decision making process and made it to where there was another time I'd be able to see Tracy, so off to the beach I went!
October 4th, we boarded a flight to Dothan, AL. We spent a couple days at his parents house and then we were off to the beach!
October 6th, the day of the engagement. I woke up with this subtle frustration. Not towards Jack at all, but there was this readiness in my heart. I was tired of just dating when I knew we were ready for the next step. So naturally, I texted my best friend about it. Haha I'm thankful she's as dramatic and candid as I am.
After our conversation I felt like I had hit a refresh button and Jack and I went on a walk. It was actually the same walk we went on before he asked me to be his girlfriend. We reminisced and talked.
When we were returned, everyone was figuring out dinner plans. His sister, Catie, put in a request to go out to dinner so we all freshened up.
Thank the Lord for sisters, I based how dressy I should look off them and once we were ready we met downstairs. Someone mentioned taking a picture, his dad sneakily said, "ahhh, no we always take pictures." But the ladies persisted. Once we were on the beach, I was distracted by my camera and trying to get all of the settings right.
I took a couple pictures of Jack and his siblings and then Catie asked if I wanted a picture with Jackson. Of course I said yes and walked over. I'm about to share of my all time favorite pictures from this moment.
As I was smiling for a picture, Jackson somewhat smiled, while his eyes were darting to the left to see if everyone was in place for this thing to happen.
I crack up every time I look at it. I just had no idea the craziness happening in his mind at the moment. After the picture I actually began to walk away. His sister gave him the thumbs up saying all was ready to go and I heard a, "hey!"
I turned back as he reached for both of my hands. He smiled and then got down on one knee.
Almost instantly, tears formed in my eyes. I said something along the lines of, "you're joking." His words proved he wasn't. He said, "do you know how much I love you? The Lord has blessed our relationship. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" Through all of the weepy tears, I said yes!!
After having our moment together, I looked back to see his family. My eyes went to the top of the deck, where I saw my family running down the stairs. I totally lost it at that point. It was the most thoughtful surprise.
After embracing my family, the rest of his family rushed on to the beach. We took pictures, hugged, Facetimed and celebrated. It had finally happened and it was perfect! We went inside where they had put together an engagement party and we laughed and celebrated the rest of the night. One of the sweetest moments was getting this text from Tracy. Since just a few hours before we had talked about my readiness.
I don't think I'll ever be able to put into words how grateful I am for Jackson Dennis. He is a man after God's own heart. Willing to be molded and shaped. He is driven and so capable of leading anyone willing to be lead. He has a tender heart that is compassionate towards everyone he meets. He loves to give! His laugh is contagious, I'm smiling as I write this because it is one of my favorite things to hear. He's funny!! He is brilliant. He is goooood lookin'. He is a provider. He treasures me in a way that I could never have imagined.
I'm so thankful that he is now forever mine and I am his.
So, all-in-all, I am about to marry the man of my dreams. I am immesurably thankful for best friends you can be completely candid with and are there in EVERY season. The Lord is so faithful, and fun!!
If you want to keep up with all things wedding, Click Here! In the meantime, enjoy the video and pictures below. The video starts from when I was walking away, just before I heard the, "hey!" The second squeal was when I saw my family. This is so much fun!!!
