We're Getting Married

Whitney and Alex met in the snowy mountains of Etna, California. Alex is from Clayton, North Carolina, but at the time was working as a cook for a ministry called JH Ranch, in Etna. Whitney is from Nashville, Tennessee, but flew out to the ranch in May 2021 to volunteer for the summer. She was selected to serve in the kitchen, which in the moment seemed like a random selection, but in time, they both came to learn that it was not so random, but rather, perfectly orchestrated by the Lord. Their friendship bloomed and blossomed in that kitchen, where they very quickly became close friends. Their relationship continued to grow throughout the summer, serving three meals a day to the hundreds of guests visiting and spending the majority of their time together. They mostly worked the same shift, and even most of their off-days were the same. After a long summer of consistently building a strong foundation of friendship, they began dating on October 6, 2021.

It was a Thursday; Whitney had left early in the morning for work and had her mind set on dinner and bowling later that night with friends. For Alex, everything was going as planned, make Whitney think nothing of today, make it the most normal Thursday in the history of Thursdays. However, everybody but Whitney knew what was happening that day, Alex was going to ask her to marry him. So as Whitney went to work, so did Alex. He was also trying to keep it as normal a day as possible, just for his heart rate's sake. He had been working on a proposal plan for an entire month. This involved getting both their families out to the ranch, retrieving the engagement ring, having dinner for everyone the night of the engagement, and getting Whitney to a specific spot at a specific time, all without Whitney knowing any of it. The goal was to surprise Whitney as much as possible, even though she knew a proposal was coming soon. So as Whitney got back from work, Alex called her to let her know that he had just gotten off work as well, and that he wanted to hang out some before dinner and bowling that night. As they often did, they agreed that she would head over to his house after they both cleaned up from work and got ready for the evening. After about 30 minutes or so, they were all ready to go, and Whitney went over to his house. She arrived after just a few minutes, and they began talking about their days at work, sharing funny stories and what their tasks were for the day. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Alex received a phone call. It was their friend, Carter. Him and his sister Emilie had gone on a drive to spend some sibling time together, as well as to test out Emilie's new car. But unfortunately, they had broken down, and needed somebody to come pick them up and help them figure out what was wrong with her car. So, Whitney and Alex quickly hopped in the car, and went on to help their friends. After about a 20 minute drive, they finally found Carter and Emilie on the side of the road, car hood up, hazard lights on, and no one else in sight. They pulled over, got out and started assessing the situation. Alex began talking with Carter, and Emilie was on the phone with (her mom, who was posing as) a mechanic. Then Alex received another phone call. As he answered the phone, he walked to the other side of the road. Whitney stayed near Emilie's car, until she heard Alex wildly react to whatever he was being told on the phone. He called her over with a "Come listen to this!" As she walked up to him, he could see that she was confused but intrigued with everything that was going on. She asked, "Who are you talking to?", he looked at her, and revealed with a smile, "Nobody." As he put his phone away, he pulled out the ring, and stated, "I'm ready to spend forever with you." Her face lit up, and as she answered him, both their families came running out to them, to which Whitney was greatly surprised for the second time in just a couple seconds. As the hugs, tears, and laughs began, it was revealed to Whitney that she was the only one not knowing what was going on. That everything was planned, even down to the timing of her and Alex getting off work. The final and most important piece to the puzzle was her answer to the big question, and yes, even that went "according to plan".

We want to thank everyone for their continued support throughout our relationship. We know that we could not do this alone, and that we wouldn't be where we are without the help of our incredible family and friends. We thank all those who have poured into our lives both as individuals and as a couple. With that being said, we are beyond excited to begin this new chapter in our lives! We cannot wait to make new memories and continue doing life with those we love! Thank you again, and we look forward to the future with you all!