We're getting married!

We met at a worship night at Victory Church. At the time, I was going through a really tough season and I remember meeting her and giving her a hug when I introduced myself. Come to find out, hugs are the way to her heart and that's why she ended up sitting beside me for the whole service.... She had that warm presence where it feels like you've known someone you're whole life even though you just met. Our friendship grew over the next few months and Mal always seemed to be the one to give me a smile or a laugh when I needed it, and she just made me feel like family in a time when I felt like I didn't have one of my own. That was 3 years before we started dating... Somehow I couldn't see that my future wife was right in front of me all along.

The first time I ever met Matthew was at a church event to which I was invited by some friends. I was just going along without really knowing anyone there, but I was expectant for whatever the Lord was going to do that night. When we met, it was just a passing exchange of hugs. Later, we ended up sitting beside each other during worship and left the event, with me not thinking much of our encounter until I saw him again at my home church. I recognized him as the bass player and noticed him around at Publix. I couldn't help but ask who the cute guy was, but they quickly told me he was too old for me. Well, even if we couldn't date, I was determined to be friends! Matthew has always been one of my closest friends, and I've loved having him around. He knows how to brighten my days and light up any room. A few years passed, and both of us happened to be in the right place at the right time, finding the right person for ourselves. Fast forward, the cute bassist at church is now my soon-to-be husband! *praise break*

I had the hardest time finding the perfect place, the perfect time, the perfect everything so I took forever to set a date but after a lot of planning with the photographer we finally agreed on July 24th at Montaluce Winery. In the weeks leading up to the shoot, all Mal could talk about was how much she wanted to be engaged...so I thought she must know that I was going to propose. Fast forward to the day of the proposal, I've convinced Mal that it's just a regular content shoot we're doing for a friend. When we get to Montaluce, Mal had to use the bathroom so the photographer and I got to work. Before long, the entire winery staff is in on the secret. We start the "photoshoot" and everything is going well except I have this giant ring box in my pocket that I'm trying my hardest to hide from Mal. We start approaching THE spot and, suddenly, the photographer calls for THE pose. She turns Malorie away from me and motions for me to get down on one knee. Before she can get in position to take the picture......MALORIE TURNS AROUND AND SEES ME ON ONE KNEE WITH THE RING IN MY HAND. If that isn't the most Malorie thing ever!!! Anyways, it still turned out perfect. She said yes. We cried. We laughed. All the emotions, all at once. Everything was perfect.

A few weeks leading up to the "content shoot", I had been seeing all the pretty engagement photos and wedding-related things on my Pinterest, so it was pretty heavy on my mind. I kept repeating how badly I wanted to be engaged, not realizing there was already a plan in place. Mind you, I was completely thrown off from the idea of getting engaged any time soon because there were "just some logistical things that needed to happen first." Going into this photoshoot, I thought we were planning to model a content shoot for my best friend. I bought a new dress, got my hair and nails done, and was trying to envision what the photographer wanted for her content. As we were being posed in a specific spot at the vineyard, with the right angles and lighting, I was told to turn my back away, and that Matthew was going to come up behind me and spin me around. I was weary about breaking my ankles since I was standing in heels on some dirt. As I waited for Matthew to pick me up, I turned to look at him behind me, and to my surprise, he was already down on one knee, asking me the best question. To which I said, "YES!!"