We’re Getting Married!

Well, it all started off when I had hair down to my shoulders. Don't worry, this was freshman year of college, and let me tell you, it was sweet. Virg and I met in the Collins dorm basement on the Baylor campus, where she attended school and I was in town visiting one of my best friends who went to Baylor. I wish I could say that sparks flew the first time that we locked eyes in the Collins basement, but that was not the case. I was for sure the weird dude in the room from A&M. Virginia was for sure the HBIC (Head Babe in Charge) freshman year with her friend group, so my initial thought was, "Oh, this girl is a big deal and way too cool for me." As college zoomed on, we had another set of mutual friends, bumping into each other randomly in College Station on weeknights, very random. But then where we “really met” was in Denver at our friends Will and Chase's engagement. I remember thinking that weekend, "Whoa, this Virginia girl is pretty rad. She is really being nice to me, really giving me the time of day wanting to talk and hear about my life." Since she is extremely out of my league, it was not even on my radar in the slightest that she could even be remotely interested in me. I left that weekend thinking wow that girl was really sweet, I wonder why she was being so nice to me. Again, completely not on my radar. A few months later, I get another call from one of my college friends, Sofia, letting me know that one of her friends might be interested in me. Again, no idea who this could be…she said, "Virginia Pace," and I think my response was, "No freaking way!" So a few weeks later, I gave her a call, asked her on a date, and the rest is history.

As some of you may know, Virginia is the queen of logistics and planning. Thus, she is harder to surprise than the average person. I had to employ all strategies and start misleading her months ahead by "accidentally" saying the wrong day, planting seeds to lead her astray. Rumor has it that she thought the surprise might happen on a weekend, but as we all know, you miss the shots you don't take. I was aware that surprising her wouldn't be an easy task. And yes, we did surprise her. Here are the details. The morning started with a casual trip to get her nails done with Jenny and Eden as a thank you for all the hard work from the previous weekend and to prep for "the big weekend ahead." After they returned to the house, Virginia was on a work call when several of her friends arrived. Some were from out of town, and she suspected something was up at that moment. After the mid-work surprise, they encouraged her to go to her house to get ready. They got ready and then met some other friends at Tinys for a lovely lunch, while I was setting things up at Laguna Gloria. After coordinating with the photographer and ensuring everything was in place, her friends dropped her at the entrance of the garden. I have never seen someone more beautiful and excited in my life. She was stunning in her floral dress with a smile that could melt the hardest attitudes and teary eyes so infectious they could move anyone. We walked towards the spot; it turned out to be a much longer walk than I anticipated. There were several moments of shared silence where we just smiled at each other, speechless and full of excitement, and she absolutely knew what was happening. In an effort to salvage some of the photos, since I was an emotional wreck anytime I tried to express myself, I decided to remain silent and save most of the heartfelt words for after the photos. As we approached our destination, I confessed my love for Virginia, told her how incredible dating her had been, and admitted that it had to end soon (yes, I actually said that). But most importantly, I expressed my desire to spend the rest of my life with her and asked if she would marry me...and she said yes! We thank the Lord for the blessing of marriage and attribute all of our joy to Him! We are over the moon excited to be getting married in a few short months!