Proposal Story (Andrew’s story):

I knew fairly early on that I wanted to marry this woman. Seeing the Lord's work in her life made me desire to spend my life with her even more. So, knowing the time should come soon, I eagerly waited for when I would propose.

The basis of the plan was that we would go on a hike and I would propose at the top of the mountain. While some details changed, the main parts didn’t. I originally planned to propose on Sunday April 25th , but after purchasing the ring and picking it up on April 14th , I knew I didn’t want to wait much longer. By that point, we had already made a plan to go hiking on the 18th and enjoy our day then. There were other plans that Emma made for the day, but I always laughed in mind thinking how that would all change once the real purpose of this hike was revealed.

We were set to do a sunrise hike. I thought it would be great to do the proposal then. We were going to go to Preacher’s Rock, a place I had hiked before and even camped out nearby once. It has a beautiful lookout and also happens to be a very simple hike as well -

perfect to do in the morning. We had also done hikes together before but never a sunrise hike, so this was going to be a special moment for us both.

The night before, I struggled to fall asleep. Part of this was due to the fact that I went to bed while it was still daylight, so the evening sun peaked through the blinds, making it harder to fall asleep. I was also excited for what was to come. I was giddy the whole night before falling asleep.

That morning, I woke up around 4AM. I picked Emma up from her house so we could leave from there to go to Preacher’s Rock. We arrived in the wee hours of the morning. One thing that was brought to my attention was that other people would be doing this sunrise hike as well. However, I had no desire to have a crowd for

the proposal. When we pulled in, there were two other cars pulling in with us. So, we immediately hit the trails and began the hike. As we approached the top, we realized there were several people sleeping at the top of the rock… Again, this was not what I was particularly wanting. But we found a spot and we began to wait for the sun to rise. I put aside my bag, I grabbed the box, and made my way back down to join Emma. Deciding to not waste any more time and to also avoid having a crowd, I seized the moment. So even while it was still dark, I took Emma’s hand and said whatever I said in that moment...I think she said "yes."

Photos