Blessed. Happy. Fulfilled. Loved. Supported. Joyous. Peaceful. Grateful. These are all the feelings rushing through my body as I sit down and think about the man that asked me to marry him a year ago. Not only do I get to marry a man that makes me feel blessed, happy, fulfilled, loved, supported, joyous, peaceful, and grateful….but I also get to marry my best friend. Chester and I have shared so many amazing memories filled with laughter, smiles, and endless love notes. Our journey together has made me grow up into the woman I am today.
We met September 2009 at a college bar called..wait for it...Hole in the Wall. Who would have known that I would have met the love of my life, Chester, at this (literally) 'hole in the wall'. But there he was....tall, brown eyes, and handsome. He came up to me while I was 'working' as a photographer and asked if I wanted to go out for dinner the following night. My cautious side of me said, "don't you dare go out with this guy from THIS bar" ...so, I said to him, "Sorry I have a lot of studying to do."
(Side note: I was in art school....there wasn't THAT much studying to do)
So the next night, I went to one of my good friends' house and who was there??....Chester. I was so embarrased. Our eyes met, but we didn't say anything to each other the whole night.
But Chester didn't give up. He was persistent in getting me to go out with him. After 5 times of asking me out, I FINALLY gave in and agreed to go out on a quick date. Our first date included, a leather jacket, indian boots, Interstate 85 South with the beautiful Atlanta skyline, oh yeah and...a MOTORCYCLE! Was I scared? Yes, but he made me feel safe and secure. That night, I knew there was something special about this guy and wanted to know more.
We became close friends which led to an amazing relationship. He asked me to be his girlfriend on October 20, 2009 at the bicycle aisle at a Walmart.
We were inseparable. Until he was deployed to Qatar the following month for the Airforce. That time apart only made our love stronger and more attached. We skyped every day, learned new things about each other, and laughed endlessly.
Everything seemed simply perfect.
Two and a half years later, on May 15, 2012, my life changed forever. It was a beautiful spring evening. My parents had invited Chester's father and step-mother over for dinner because they were in town. On our way over to my parent's house, Chester quickly stopped by a store for a second to 'pick up something for his dad'...
Little did I know that thing was for me....
We finally arrived and had a beautiful dinner at my parent's back-yard with candles on the table....it was a perfect setting. We had a delicious meal; however, I started to develop an allergic reaction to the fish we had and quickly took a benadryl, which then made me feel tired and groggy. By midnight, we had all finished dinner (me...half asleep) and Chester starts to talk. I notice both of our parents starting to get all jumpy and next thing I know, Chester is down on one knee and asking me to marry him! My dazed and confused self, started to get all jittery and wide-eyed! Instead of saying yes, I repeatedly started to say "Are you serious??" I looked at the beautiful ring and finally said YES! :)
The guy from "Hole in the Wall" captured my heart and I couldn't be happier to marry my best friend on our fourth year anniversary, October 20, 2013!
