We met each other several times out and would always strike up conversations over our mutual love of music. Our connection mainly stemmed from our favorite music festival, Bonnaroo. We both went for the first time separately the year before we met. The next time I saw him, we were out dancing out having a great time. The end of the night snuck up on us as DJ announced "last call" and started playing country music. Before I knew it, he grabbed my hand and whisked me away to the dance floor. If you know him, you know two stepping isn't his forte. We began dancing and he kept stepping on my feet, but I just laughed and kept going because I was so enamored and surprised he took me to dance. The night came to an end and we went our separate ways. As I got to my car, I realized my new shoes were tattered with shoe marks. And if you know me, you know how much I cherish my wardrobe. It was the perfect excuse to reach out to him. Two days later, he asked me out on our first date and the rest was history.

I knew there would be no way that I'd be able to plan my proposal without distracting Nicole with something big. Nicole had been wanting to take family photos with our dogs, so I knew this was the perfect opportunity for me to secretly plan the proposal. I asked one of her best friends, Daniel, if he would be willing to take the pictures and keep a huge secret. There was no way he could say no. Nicole planned the family photo shoot, while I secretly planned the proposal right under her nose. Daniel and I discussed the perfect spot to do it and everything was coming together perfectly. On the day of the shoot we had planned to go to a local park, but when we arrived we discovered that we weren't able to take photos. I was already nerve wrecked, so that only made me more nervous. We then headed to the back up location, Confluence Park, which in retrospect was the perfect location all along. Throughout the photo shoot I had been trying to figure out the right time and spot to pop the question. Finally, we had taken enough photos of us with the dogs so I suggested we take a few together. We took a couple photos together, then I grabbed her hand and told her that the entire photo shoot was just a set-up for me to ask her to be my wife. I got down on one knee, pulled the ring out of my pocket, and nervously asked the her the one question I already knew the answer to. Below is a picture from our family photo shoot.