Adam and Amanda

The proposal was in the making for years. When I met Amanda, I knew from the beginning she was something speacial. Less than a year into the relationship I knew I wanted her to be mine.

My family was planning a vacation in Gulf Shores, AL in the summer of 2007 and I knew I wanted to propose on the beach. So three months ahead of time I went shopping for the ring. Everyone was telling me I needed to take someone with me and my mom volunteered to go, but I told her to stay home because I wanted to do this one all on my own. I went to many ring stores and never really found the perfect one until I walked into Jared's. I got to build my own and I knew exactly what she liked. I added my own flavor and I had the perfect ring. One week before leaving for vacation Amanda and I were walking around her neighborhood. She looked me in the eyes and asked how much longer do I have to wait? Up to that point we had been together for over three years and I could feel her agony. I looked back into her eyes and I said give me one more year, knowing I already had the ring and already had everything planned out.

The night before we left for vacation, I nervously went to her parents' house to ask for their permission. I was shaking like a leaf on a tree, but I courageously asked and they both were happy to say yes. So everything was complete except for popping the question. The next day we left for vacation and the entire week I had butterflies in my stomach. I knew she was going to say yes, but I was still nervous.

So I had planned a very special date for Amanda and I in Gulf Shores. We were going to spend the whole day together. First, we woke up and I took her to the United States Naval Avaiation Musuem. I know it sounds "dorky" but I wanted it to be special. Her grandfather was in the Navy and I felt that in a way we were honoring him and his service for our country. Next we went to the hotel to change and then I took her to what we both thought was going to be a really nice restaurant, but it turned out to be less than nice. After dinner, we met up with my parents to go out and take some nice pictures. Amanda still did not know what was going on. In the picture above you can see that it looks like I am proposing, that was not planned but it really worked out.

So the time had come and I told her I wanted to go to the hotel and kick our shoes off and go for a walk on the beach. The sun was beginning to set and the time was perfect. I went into my mother's room to get the ring which she was hiding for me. I held my hand in my pocket the whole time trying to hide the large box. We walked along the edge of the beach kicking water, and I asked her if we could move up the beach to pick up some sea shells. She said yes and we begin to get away from the crowd. As we walked and walked and walked, I knew I needed to do it. She began picking up sea shells and never really found the pretty one. Finally I got the nerve up to do it. She had wondered ahead of me a little ways and was frustrated with all the broken sea shells. So as she picked one up and threw it back down I said "Hunny here is a nice one" and she said "No that one is broken." I said no its not and as she turned around, I got on one knee and asked her if she would marry me. She was so happy that she begin to shake and kind of fell into my arms. She began to cry and pulled herself away from me and said "YES!". We were so happy. I had the hardest time getting the ring out of my pocket because my hands were sweating so much, but when I got it out everything else came so much easier. As we walked back to the hotel she said, "Wait, last week you told me to give you one more year?" I smiled and said I had plans of my own. She was happy and that is all that I wanted. I love her and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with her.

--Adam

I knew right away that Adam was the one. We began talking about marriage wihin our first few months of dating. There were times that I expected it, but it never happened. Our three year anniversary was one of those times. We went to Coolidge Park in Chattanooga and then to J. Alexander's for dinner. I expected it the entire night, and was very disappointed when it didn't happen. So, I never expected it again. I told myself that it would happen when the time was right for the both of us, so be patient!

The days before we left for vacation I was subbing in a room with another teacher at work. She told me all week that he would propose while we were on vacation. I told her that it was not going to happen, and I honestly believed it wasn't!

Adam told me once we were on vacation that he wanted us to take one whole day to spend together. We looked at all kinds of things to do that day from para-sailing to the Naval Aviation Museum. We picked the museum and I couldn't have been happier! We had the most fun going through and looking at all of the things it had to offer. We had scoped out restaurants all week to find the perfect one for our date night. We saw one in a newer boutique shopping mall that looked amazing. We got there and it was nothing we had imagined at all. We ate outside out of baskets with paper lining. We had a good laugh and were ready to go take some pictures and walk on the beach.

We were walking and at first we were hand in hand. We then began looking for sea shells and he fell behind. Every shell I found was cracked or chipped and not worth keeping. I found one I thought was perfect, but it had a huge piece missing, so I threw it back down. Adam told me that I missed one, and I said, "No, that one is broken!" He told me turn around and look at it, and he was on his knee. I could not believe it! He told me one more year. He asked me if I would marry him, and I asked him if he was serious. I had no clue whatsoever, and I wouldn't change that for anything. It was the greatest day of my life and I look forward to many more with him!

--Amanda