Around 8-9 months into our relationship, the potential of getting married came up - we both knew it was an interest in our futures, but never explicitly made assumptions about one another. James always made mention that he would have a ‘magical moment’ where he knew he wanted a future with the person he wanted to marry.

After a year in, it started to be a social conversation - ‘are you guys thinking about marriage’ and it became more of ‘yea- eventually’. Our private conversations became comparisons and fact finding - what do you envision in this regard, etc. Including ring conversations. With each conversation, it felt more and more like a reality

One night at dinner with our core friend/parent group, the conversation came up - but this time James showed a ‘this is what I was thinking’ regarding rings - and boy did this light a fire with Amanda’s girlfriends! James got a point of contact from one of the husbands and the ball started rolling.

Amanda is incredibly intuitive and observant. We also stay so busy that any deviation in schedule is known and blatant. These were all factors that made James’ life harder.

One day, James got a phone call while sitting on the couch from a name/number that he had saved. He bolted from the couch and took the phone call out of earshot. Amanda was going to play this off as him not wanting to interrupt the TV show - but when he got back, he justified it as someone from work. Amanda made a mental note that it wasn’t a name she recognized from conversations about work. Flags were raised. Later (but near term), James made a solo trip to Fredericksburg, where Amanda also made a mental note as an ‘opportunity’.

From there, Amanda considered potential timing…Valentine’s, came and passed…..family vacation, came and passed…eventually, though it was in the back of her mind, she vowed to let it go, let it happen, etc. Focus shifted, and she coordinated a cookout party for James’ birthday on June 9th, 2023. Amanda had a hair appointment that morning, and we worked through shopping, prep, set-up, and decided to take a few moments to cool down prior to everyone’s arrival.

We were entering the living room, sharing chit-chat as we moseyed, and suddenly, James says “sooo, let me ask you a question?” this prompted Amanda to turn towards him with full attention as he was dropping to one knee. There was obvious recognition of events happening, but Amanda was still left in shock and awe. No answer was given immediately, just ‘OMG’ and ‘AHHHH’s. The next moment of recognition was “OH, there’s a light in the box!” - we eventually got to Amanda saying yes (obviously) - but many moments of elation and gitty-ness passed before composure was gained.

It wasn’t heavily orchestrated or extravagant circumstances, but it was perfect. Intimate and unexpected in those moments.Within the first hour of being engaged, James already had a potential date suggested - because he had already considered all the details. Family was called. The birthday cookout turned into an engagement celebration, and it was a very memorable experience.