Two weeks ago I shared how Joshua and I met + how it all got stared. Today I’m sharing our engagement story, how he proposed + some photos from our first round of photos! So let’s get right to it…

Joshua’s work keeps him busy lots of weekends due to him having to travel out of town for events. This happened to include our anniversary this past year. Since we weren’t able to celebrate the weekend of our anniversary we made plans to celebrate the following weekend. As always with Joshua he didn’t provide me with too many details, wanting to surprise me.

Saturday morning he showed up to my house where he brought me breakfast in bed, chocolate chip bananas pancakes, my favorite! We lounged for a bit then packed up for a day full of adventure as he promised. First up was a hike at the US National White Water Center. This is where we had one of our first dates. We spent the whole date asking funny, serious, and creative questions back and forth. Still one of my favorite dates to date! We kept up the tradition and spent the next hour laughing and enjoying our time together. Then it was back to the truck.

Next up we arrived at our alma mater. Joshua pulled out a blanket and cooler. My first picnic was happening right where we met. PB&J sandwiches, apples, and Oreos – the perfect old school lunch! Lucky for us the weather was incredible so we spent the next hour or so lounging in the grass talking about the glory days and catching some rays {you know we both could use a little tan}.

From there Joshua took me to Treehouse Vineyards. An adorable vineyard in Monroe, NC. We grabbed a bottle of wine, sat on a tree swing, and talked about the last two years together. A super sweet moment! We then headed up the treehouse stairs to look over the vineyard, sip more wine, and indulge in the cheese + charurterie + crackers Joshua packed for us.

Back to the house we went {Joshua’s house}. He said we could take some blog photos {yippee}. So while I got ready he snoozed it up. Once ready we grabbed the camera and headed out to pick a location to shoot. Usually Joshua is all about picking a place prior but this time he said we’ll just walk around and see what we find. After about two minutes he started saying all these sweet things and saying I love you – a lot! We made our way into the Fourth Ward park by his house and it was there that he told me he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and asked if I would be his best friend for life. With a brief pause {I couldn’t believe it was actually happening!} I said YES! We kissed and then there was a BIG wooohooo. One of our best friends, Chris, was in the bushes taking photos 🙂

We went back to Joshua’s to celebrate – champagne, roses, and more photos! It was then Joshua explained that the day wasn’t over quite yet, we had dinner plans. I changed real quick and we made our way to dinner. It was at Rock Bottom, where our very first date was. The waitress took us to a back corner of the restaurant and it was there that I saw my family and his! Such an amazing surprise and exactly who we both wanted to celebrate this incredible moment with.

To say it perfect is the largest understatement! The proposal was everything I’ve ever wanted and way more. I am one lucky lady!

Photos by: Adrinne Beaver Photography