James will be the first to tell you that when he first met Whitney, it was a brief hello and then back to her book. With her nose buried, that could've been the end...but it wasn't. They continued to be friends in chorus, tease one another about singing valentines and James even came to see Whitney perform in her first musical - Camelot. (She almost tripped on her dress walking past him!) They continued to talk over the summer, until they were in chorus together again in the following spring.

On a beautiful day in the middle of April, James took the leap to ask Whitney to prom! He left a note on her computer in her third period class with a chocolate bunny, saying "Whitney Mantooth, will you go to prom with me?" He likes to remind her that she didn't say yes at first - she squealed and hugged him, but only when prompted did she say yes. A few days later, they both determined they would begin dating, and they had their first date at prom on May 5, 2012.

After eight years of dating, on a sunny afternoon in December, James asked Whitney to marry him in the middle of a photo shoot! They, along with their roommate, had been out taking pictures with a longtime friend in Yates Mill Park. Little did Whitney know that everyone was in on the proposal plan! When prompted by their photographer, James staged a fake proposal under the pretenses that Whitney had to answer fast enough (yes, really!). After this staged event, he then revealed the new engagement ring and proposed for real this time. Whitney, who didn't know it was coming, was floored and reportedly began crying immediately.