I can't believe I am writing this post. My baby sister is ENGAGED!! Last Friday afternoon, Jackson proposed to Erin on a grassy hill overlooking a beautiful lake. There is a lot more to the story, so let me hand it over to Erin for her perspective!
Jackson and I have been dating since February 2013, and have been long distance since August. This past weekend I was visiting him in Richmond, VA; about a 10 hour trip from Nashville where I live and work. Friday morning he picked me up early and took me to a coffee shop that we love where we had breakfast and got to spend some time together in scripture. After this we headed to the first surprise of the day which was the Richmond Zoo to feed the giraffes! (one of my favorite dates we went on in college was feeding giraffes at a safari park) After the zoo we went to lunch and got a Chipotle burrito bowl (our favorite!) then he dropped me off and told me we were going to a fancy dinner (so I would dress up and look nice :)
When I got to his house he proceeded to give me roses, which made me a little curious, but we were celebrating Valentine's day so I just went with it. We then drove about thirty minutes from his house and when we were almost there he blindfolded me (this is when I KNEW something was happening!) He brought me out to this field with horses and a lake and laid a couple blankets down. Jackson had bought some speakers and made a playlist of some of our favorite songs. We danced for a while (another one of our favorite things) and he began to talk about how he envisioned living his life in a place close to Jesus, the water’s edge. He walked through the Bible and the significant moments where people are taught, healed and in fellowship by the water’s edge. He told me that he wanted to fight for us to spend our lives together learning from and being healed by Jesus. He then looked me in the eyes and told me he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!!! I said YES and then he asked if he could get up and put the ring on my finger, I said no jokingly. I wanted to soak up this moment for as long as possible which meant Jackson staying on his knee for a couple more minutes :) We then prayed together and he told me that he wanted to serve me as an example of what he was praying the rest of our marriage would look like. He had brought some warm water and a basin and washed my feet. As he was about to dump out the water, I asked if I could wash his as well.
We stayed there a little longer and watched the sunset over the trees, and then it was off to our dinner reservations. I thought that this was just going to be the two of us but he surprised me with my family and his parents in a private room to celebrate. After a day full of surprises we got back to Jackson’s house ready to unwind, opened the door and some of my closest friends were there to celebrate with me!! ALSO, little did I know, my sister was hiding and taking pictures during the proposal, hope you enjoy them!
The day before the proposal, Jackson went to the spot where he would pop the question and he sent me several pictures about where to park and where I should hide. It was perfect on the day of to follow the images! I was hiding in the trees across the lake taking pictures of the two of them. I was pretty far away, but I was still able to capture the moment! After he proposed and they washed each other's feet, I slipped away and drove straight to Target to edit a few of the pictures and get them framed. After I printed a few pictures, I rushed to the dinner location where my family and Jackson's family were waiting for Erin and Jackson. I popped on my flash and made it just in time to take pictures of Erin's sweet face in surprise at our whole family waiting to celebrate with her.
We ate and laughed for three house as we heard the story of the day and started dreaming of their wedding. We can't wait to celebrate their wedding and their marriage! Enjoy these images from the proposal and surprise dinner!
YAY! SO happy for you two. Can't wait for the wedding!!