Natalia & Andrew

How They Met

Andrew and I met at a wedding in Fort Worth, TX on October 31, 2015. Separately, the bride and groom were our best friends but we had never met! He was the best man and I was a bridesmaid. People often ask if it was love at first sight, but he actually had a date to the wedding… Following the wedding, we became friends on Facebook.

On December 5, 2015, he uploaded a picture of his kitchen that he had renovated at his house in Lubbock, TX. I commented on how beautiful it was! This comment sparked a conversation and he messaged to text him which I of course did. We started texting and talking every day. On December 12, 2015, he surprised me by coming to Fort Worth to watch me perform at my church’s Christmas concert. That afternoon, we went on our first date. After the concert, we went on our second date. At 3:30AM on December 13, 2015, Andrew asked me to be his girlfriend and I of course said yes!

The Proposal

Fast forward nine short (but long) months. We had to learn how to deal with a long distance relationship but when God brings two people together, something like distance is pretty irrelevant. Andrew had moved back to the DFW area and I was in Wichita Falls, TX completing my last semester of nursing school at Midwestern State University. Andrew knew that I was only coming home twice that semester due to an intense school and workload.

On September 30, 2016, he took me to see the 90,000 pumpkins on display at the Dallas Arboretum. I was not expecting anything because he knew that my dream proposal included a dinner with our closest friends and family following the proposal but my friends had thrown me off enough that I didn’t believe they were in town. We arrive to the Arboretum and walked around for a while. There was a section of the Arboretum that Andrew really wanted to go down but a wedding party was taking pictures there so we had to stall for a few minutes.

I did not understand why he wanted to go down there so badly. It turns out that a photographer and videographer were positioned to capture the moment that was about to come. As we walked down Crape Myrtle Alley, I was taken by how beautiful everything was. At the end of path, there were a group of fountains with a separate pathway to avoid walking back down Crape Myrtle Alley. I did not want to walk back down because the wedding party had resumed taking pictures. As I started to find another exit, Andrew told me not to go that way but to walk back down the Alley with him and I did. Andrew saw his photographer positioned and after walking about 10 yards, he dropped to one knee! I immediately covered my eyes and began to cry. He asked me, “So what are you doing for the rest of your life?!” I answered (squealing), “Being with you!!!” The wedding party behind us cheered and we celebrated. Following the engagement, he took me to get my nails done at Salon Pompeo in Dallas, TX. After that, we drove to Argyle, TX to his mom’s house where 42 of our closest friends and family were waiting to celebrate with us!

The Engagement Ring

Custom ring, infinity band, 24 diamonds along the band, white Gold, 1.5 ct diamond colorless JD with Graham Brothers Jewelers in Amarillo, TX

Photo Credit: Chevy Chey Photo