Kyle’s parents had planned to come to Nashville for a marathon about six months in advance. Joy’s parents were planning to be in town too so they could all spend time together at their house on the lake. About a month and a half before, Kyle mentioned Lauren, Brian, and Emily (Kyle's sister & her family) were coming for the weekend too. At first, Joy didn’t think anything of it and was excited! But then she began to be suspicious. She felt that Kyle was being sketchy, but she wanted to be surprised and did not try to pry. They all came in on Thursday, and this began the festivities.

Joy was lead to believe that they were having an early dinner on Saturday - a normal for Joy’s family. Joy began to get ready, and she had no idea what was going on behind the scenes while she was gone. Joy finished up getting ready well before they were planning to leave. She went out to the kitchen to hang out with her mom, Mallory (Joy's sister-in-law), and Lauren. As soon as she walked out, Mallory asked if she was ready and told her they are leaving now. At this point Joy knew what was going on and without any hesitation or question, she got her things. To Joy's surprise, she was lead out to the boat by Mallory and Lauren where Kirk (Joy's brother) and Brian were waiting. Joy had a quick thought of wondering where Kyle was but was just going with the flow.

They began to drive, and Joy had no idea of where they were going. There was not much conversation as Joy was trying to maintain her calm and contain her smiles of excitement. As she felt the boat slowing down, she turned around to see Kyle walking down the dock at a park with flowers in his hand. Kyle gave Joy his hand and the flowers, and they began to walk into the park. They were laughing and both remarking about how excited they were. They walked toward a beautiful setup with a bench, table, flowers, candles, and sweet pictures. Kyle asked Joy to sit down. He read a heartfelt letter that finished with him on one knee asking her to spend forever with him. Through lots of tears and excitement, she said “YES!”

After the excitement settled Kyle said, “I have one more thing..." He shared with her a box of letters from some of the most important people in their lives. Kyle had asked each of their siblings and parents to write a letter to each of them or the two of them as a couple. Joy was shocked by this. It included many more tears and special memories. Kirk was able to sneak many special pictures without Joy noticing him until after the moment was over.

After Kyle and Joy paused and took in the moment with the sun setting, they began to walk back to the boat as Kirk, Mallory, Lauren, and Brian met them halfway with much celebration. This was a special time to take in what happened with their siblings. They all got back on the boat and celebrated with a sparkling cider toast. They rode back to the dock where their parents were waiting. They shared the story and memories with everyone. They did go to dinner at Kyle and Joy's favorite place about two hours after Joy originally anticipated.

Note from Kyle - I am so thankful for the opportunity to spend forever with my best friend. I moved to Nashville exactly one year on the day we got engaged. I had prayed that God would give me joy in this new season of my life and He answered all of my prayers.

Note from Joy - This was truly such a special day, more than I could have ever imagined. I am so thankful to have both our parents there to celebrate with us. It was so special to me to have our siblings and nieces/nephews. Thank you to everyone who made this the most dreamy proposal!