Yates Mill Engagement Photos | Raleigh Engagement Photographer

Both of us have very similar levels of ambition, but the way we go about things can be very different. Kristian is a very blunt, sometimes abrasively honest person, while I tend to be more subtle (despite my appearance). Kristian is very literal and has a slap-stick sense of humor, while I am a sarcastic, ironic girl with a darker taste. We both like hiking and the outdoors, and the fact that we are seven years apart in age is appealing to both of us.

I was not surprised. At all. He straight-up told me he would propose sometime in December, but didn’t tell me which day. He and my sisters colluded into making me think it was Christmas Day, and they had everyone fooled. On Christmas Eve, however, after church, we drove out to Duke University. He, his brother, and my best friend all told me it was to go see the Chapel lit up with Christmas lights, all of them knowing I loved lights. I was still thinking at this point he would pop the question the next day, so I agreed to go, with no suspicions otherwise. But when we got there and Suzy pulled out her camera, I knew something was up. Sure enough, after at the Chapel for a few minutes (devoid of Christmas lights, might I add), he spun me around and asked me to marry him. The funny part? He was so nervous he forget to get down on one knee, and he was afraid I would see the ring box on his person, so he had kept it in a plastic bag in his shirt pocket.

Don’t get complacent. Don’t get comfortable with the routine, and your kids, and whatever is going on, and let yourselves drift apart.

Besides getting married? Seeing a lot of old friends again. Having all the people I love in one place.