photo | Sparrow and Gold Photography

PRISCILLA + LANCE

Everyone asks, “Did you know it was about to happen?!” And the funny thing is, I didn’t! We were going on day six in Maui and loving every single minute of it. The highlight of this day was that we were going to watch the sunset on top of the dormant Haleakala volcano. Pretty cool, right?! The elevation is so high that you reach a point where you’re driving ABOVE the clouds! (I’m already excited thinking about it again but I’ll come back here later!)

That afternoon we had lunch at The Mill House which was pretty much straight out of Jurassic Park (minus the dinosaurs). The views were amazing. It was about 90 degrees outside and we were enjoying some delicious cocktails and taking in the scenery. We took about 50 pictures here, none of which ever were posted on Instagram because they got trumped by the events that followed later!

So fast forward — we go back to the hotel for an outfit change. Apparently it’s supposed to be below 50 degrees when we get to the top of the volcano… so off we go!

Now if you’ve ever been to Maui, you must know that those “Hana Tonic” anti nausea ginger shots will give you life. Go crazy. Buy a dozen of them! Without them, I MAY NOT HAVE BEEN PROPOSED TO! We began our ascent up the Haleakala volcano and with every wind and turn, my breaths grew deeper, and I was trying to not get sick. Lance was over-the-moon excited and in hindsight, I now know why – he was about to pop the question! But I had no idea of course!

So up, up, up we go, and Lance keeps saying, “Babe! We’re driving up a volcano right now! Are you gonna be okay?!” And I smile and work my way through the Hana tonics and ginger chews we got from the hotel.

We finally made it up top! The elevation was 10,000+ feet! The views were stunning. In an instant, any nausea I had was gone. Was this real life?! There was a calmness and quietness in the air. And it was so cold!

Lance and I walked around a bit to find a good place to set up shop. When I say set up shop, it’s a thing we do. Every trip, every destination, we find a good spot, put a blanket down, then Lance busts out his Gopro, his drone… you know, all the high tech stuff. I get a solid A for effort with my iPhone 7, but hey, it makes for some great photos!

The sun started to set, and I ask Lance, “Aren’t you gonna fly the drone yet? I don’t want you to miss the sunset! We came all the way here for this!” He insisted we wait a few more minutes to preserve the drone battery life and maximize the footage. He set up the GoPro, and we took a minute to appreciate everything around us.

This is the part where everyone thinks I had to have known, but I really didn’t! Lance makes killer videos of all our trips, and this was just another day, another killer shot of an amazing place we have traveled to together.

The drone has this cool 360 degree thing it does, so Lance got it up in the air, and turned on the setting. At this very moment, I’m cold, the wind is blowing like crazy, and my hair is flying everywhere while I’m trying to view the sunset.

I remember it like it was in slow-motion. I turned the other direction so the wind could blow my hair away from my face, and in that split second I see Lance taking a ring out of his pocket. “OMG OMG OMG!” I literally said that about 47 times on the raw video footage. I see the ring, turn back around, but then do a double take! At that moment, Lance got down on one knee and asked if I would marry him. HAPPIEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE!

You know that expression “weak in the knees”? I never thought it was a real thing until this moment. I was so overcome by joy and even felt like I blacked out. Everything was so surreal! I instantly hugged Lance, and fell to my knees with happiness and excitement. I didn’t even remember if I said yes! I hadn’t even seen the ring! I was just so in the moment of realizing HE PICKED ME……ME to spend the rest of his life with. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world and still do today!

The moments after, we spent sharing our love for each other and recalling how it all happened— how he chose the ring, how he shipped it to Hawaii and it sat in the hotel office for three days before he picked it up. I had no clue! He shared all the fun stories and journey of how the proposal came to be. I’m so glad the drone and Gopro captured it all so we can relive it every day. And I’m so thankful for the Hana Tonics that cured my nausea! Lance said had I not felt better, he probably wouldn’t have popped the question! I watch the video at least once a week and it gives me chills every time! Future Mrs. O’Brien coming Labor Day Weekend 2019!

photo | Brooke Taelor

MACI + DJ

It happened on our five year anniversary. DJ had always told me he would never propose on a holiday or special date – “it’d be too obvious.” He arranged for us to stay at my favorite hotel, the Belmont in Dallas, that weekend. We checked in on Saturday around 2:00pm and he said we’d have dinner downtown around 7:30pm, but before he’d like to get drinks and listen to the band in the hotel lobby. We got ourselves ready and decided to head to the bar. We got a drink and started to head to the patio. The door opened and there stood both of our families and close friends. I was in complete shock (it seriously felt like a dream!). He all of a sudden had a handful of roses and walked me to a sidewalk with the Dallas Skyline behind us where he popped the question. The funny thing is, he had to ask TWICE. The first answer I gave was “THIS IS SO CRAZY, I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING!” but the second answer was YES, YES, YES! He had a photographer on site and ready for a mini photo session with the family. Next, he took us all over to the restaurant next door called Smoke, and we all ate dinner, laughed and celebrated together. It was such a beautiful day and is definitely (so far) the best day of our lives.

photo | Kate Pease Photography

LINDSEY + MARK

How We Met:

It was Valentine’s Day of 2014, Mark and Lyndsey were both Juniors at TCU, single, and planning to attend an Anti-Valentine’s Day party hosted by mutual friends. A party meant for single people to celebrate being single… joke’s on them! They locked eyes at the party, but it wasn’t until later that night Lyndsey had the liquid courage to walk up and introduce herself at a local TCU bar called Cellar (R.I.P). Fast forward to the end of the night, phone numbers were exchanged and a first date was set. The rest is history!

The Start of Us:

We had been spending a lot of time together, going on dates, and getting to know one another. It was April 30th, 2014, and Mark had asked Lyndsey out to dinner at Mi Cocina. What started off as a typical dinner ended with the first of Mark’s many romantic gestures. He took Lyndsey to the Fort Worth Water Gardens for the first time, a place that would become even more special with each passing year. At the bottom of the big fountain, he asked Lyndsey to “make it official” by becoming his girlfriend. To which Lyndsey nervously and awkwardly rambled on, eventually saying yes! Fast forward four years and their relationship continued to grow stronger. They survived first jobs, graduate school, long distance (looking at you Erie, PA) and continued to love one another whole-heartedly.

The Proposal:

On June, 2nd 2018, Mark pulled off the greatest surprise. Under the false pretense that he was taking Lyndsey to a romantic birthday dinner, they got all dressed up and headed to downtown Fort Worth. The Uber pulled up next to the Fort Worth Water Gardens. He took Lyndsey to the spot where he made it official all those years ago, got down on one knee, and asked her to marry him. This time Lyndsey said YES without hesitation! Mark celebrated as Lyndsey cried tears of joy (and shock), but the surprise didn’t end there! The two headed to Grace to have dinner. Upon arriving to the restaurant the hostess escorted Mark and Lyndsey to a private dining room. When the doors to the room opened both families were there to surprise Lyndsey! Having all her loved ones together to celebrate was the perfect ending to a magical proposal!

photo | Bay Productions

KIMBERLY + TRAVIS

Travis rented a beautiful beach house in Galveston for my best friend and my’s 30th birthdays with all of our closest friends! My friend and I were told to go upstairs and wait because everyone had a surprise for us. I was thinking it was going to be a birthday cake and everyone singing us happy birthday. As we went downstairs, everyone was in a line with sparklers leading to the outside balcony overlooking the beach. At some point my best friend had grabbed a sparkler and stood aside as I kept walking, and I realized I was walking to the man of my dreams kneeling on one knee! I was so surprised! He had puzzle pieces spread out and asked if I would be his missing puzzle piece… and if I would marry him! I said YES! Best day ever!

photo | Hannah Trotter Photography

KELSEY + JAMIE

My fiancé, Jamie, and I met at a game night with friends. This game night kick-started our relationship and has been a fun, monthly tradition we enjoy with our friends. We’ve played this game our entire relationship, so Jamie thought, “what better way to propose?” On Saturday, October 6, Jamie got our group of friends together for our monthly game night. To begin the game, every player must look inside his or her envelope to find out their role within the game. Inside of my envelope was a sticky note that read, “Marry me?” Jamie got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife with the same people present as when we first met. It was truly the perfect proposal!

photo | Madeline Shea Photography

JENNIFER + BRETT

Brett surprised me with a trip to one of my favorite places in the world –Colorado! Maybe not the most exotic, but definitely a special place for me. I thought we were just going skiing but there turned out to be a few more surprises to the day! After massages, galloping through the mountains on horses and the most epic hike to the Continental Divide, Brett pulled out his grandmother’s Bible and a ring and asked me to be his wife as the snow started to fall around us. It was the most magical, humbling and exciting moment of my life as I couldn’t wait to begin our lives together!

photo | Amy Herfurth Photography

HAYLEY + SCOTT

First off, my now husband was introduced to me by my grandfather. They both worked in the same building and met on a elevator. To make it an even smaller world, my grandparents were in the same bible study as Scott’s parents when they lived in Dallas many years ago. My grandfather totally set me up and gave Scott my number a few months after initially meeting him. Scott called me and set up our first date at Sushi Zushi where we spent three hours getting to know each other. I texted my family after the date saying, “I’m in love!”

Scott proposed at our favorite restaurant, Yao Fuzi. My ring was actually inside a soup dumpling! After Scott proposed, our families and closest friends entered the restaurant, and after we celebrated at my parents house! It was the best night.

Scott and I just recently got married in October 2018. NOW THAT was the best night.

photo | Alba Rose Photography

ELEANOR + NICHOLAS

We went to the Pacific Northwest for my “birthday trip” in August of 2017 – we drove from Seattle down the coast into Oregon to watch the solar eclipse, back up to Portland and then home to Dallas. Long story short, I had convinced myself that we were getting engaged on this trip, and then he didn’t propose when I thought he was going to. I was crushed. Little did I know he was planning to propose to me the very next day, during the solar eclipse, and he had been planning this for over eight months. The next morning we went out onto the bay to watch the eclipse where he asked me to marry him during totality. It was perfect!

photo | Sami Kathryn Photography

DYANN + DOUG

Doug and I first met while serving together at our Young Adults Ministry at Watermark Community Church. We started dating on December 12, 2017, and both faithfully continued to pursue the Lord and one another for the next year.

On December 16, 2018, it was a typical day at church where my fiancé and myself sitting with some of our friends. Near the end of church service, he said he had to go to the restroom and would meet me outside. I didn’t think anything of it as I walked out of the church auditorium with my friends and headed to meet with my co-worker and good friend by the Christmas tree in our church lobby area. Our boss had asked if we could prepare for a meeting by printing out some materials. I texted Doug to let him know, and he said he would bring the car around (which at the time, I thought was so sweet because we parked far away!). My coworker and I went up to our office building (we work at the church) and walked into the conference room that we were needing to set up and saw my whole church community group and my roommate there. I was stunned! At first they said it was an intervention (like in How I Met Your Mother), but they laughed and started playing a video that my fiancé prepared for me. In the video he spoke about how this was the day we had been waiting for and how he wanted me to enjoy going to my favourite places with my favourite people. My girls prayed over me, and then we were off!

We went to my apartment first where my roommate read a letter Doug wrote to me. The apartment was filled with tons of memories of us from making pizza to watching movies on the couch to just reading. Next, we went to Blue Sushi for lunch, a restaurant that Doug and I frequent either together or with our friends where we’ve made a ton of good memories and had loads of good conversations and laughs! At lunch, someone read a letter that Doug had prepared for me. Afterwards, we went to Target, where I frequently drag Doug in to look through the $1 section or just window shop. Someone read the last letter that Doug prepared for me and suggested I take some pictures of things I wanted to purchase for our new home. We spent some time there and found some great things. At this point, I was ready to see my soon-to-be fiancé! I was so happy to have spent the entire day with some of my best girl friends and to be able to enjoy this day with them.

They blindfolded me when we got back to the car, and I had no idea where we were going. When we got to where we were going, they guided me out of the car, and all of a sudden, the blindfold was taken off of me where Doug was waiting in front of me. We went on a walk and talked about how our days went (Doug has gotten brunch with his best guy friends!). He stopped me and told me that he loves me – at this point, we hadn’t said “I love you” to one another. We wanted it to be special and wanted to truly exemplify the same way Christ loves us, through sacrifice and grace and forgiveness. I told him I loved him too! He said he wanted me to be his wife, and then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I said YES!

photo | Megan Kay Photography

CRYSTAL + ROBERT

It was a complete surprise! On the Fourth of July, Robert told me we were going to a birthday dinner. We got there, climbed up the stairs, and opened the door. To my surprise, our family and friends were all there, lined up holding sparklers! I like to say I had my own set of fireworks that day. It was perfect in every way!