Spencer and I met at the University of Arkansas (woo pig)! We knew of each other freshman year through mutual friends, but our paths didn’t cross until Sophomore year. We had our first interaction when he came to my sorority house to borrow a textbook from my then roommate and now Maid of Honor, Alex. She was sick and asked if I could run it down to him. I remember saying “Really? I barely know the guy", but did the favor anyway. I remember walking back to my room thinking how genuinely nice (and super cute) he was. We were always meeting tons of people, but for some reason that interaction stuck in my head. The next time we ran into each other was Junior year at the Choctaw Casino on our way home for Fall break. We talked for a little yet I once again felt that same feeling I had from our first interaction. It’s honestly hard to put it into words but I remember thinking to myself how crazy it was. Once I got back to the car I asked Alex, “Is Spencer single??”, because I knew that feeling had to have meant something. We laughed and to this day, it’s one of our favorite memories to look back on. The last time we ran into each other before we started dating was out on Dickson Street. Yet again, the feeling was back. At this point I remember thinking what is going on here! A month later the timing was finally right and Spencer reached out in March 2020. We've never looked back!

I always knew I wanted to propose to Kaitlyn on a trip but picking where was a tough decision. After lots of back & forth, I finally decided on Charleston, which is somewhere we always talked about visiting. I had an idea of how I wanted things to go but given I’ve never been to Charleston (or proposed) before, I knew I needed help to make it happen. I reached out to a local engagement planner in the area and she helped create my vision.

Once I had the plan, I asked Kaitlyn to go to Charleston to celebrate her birthday. We were so excited to finally be visiting somewhere we had talked about for so long! I planned the proposal on our first day because I knew it would be all I would think about. I had the proposal set up in Hampton Park which has beautiful scenery.

On the afternoon of the proposal, I told Kaitlyn I had a special date planned. While in the Uber on the way to the park, the driver started questioning why we were dressed so nicely. Kaitlyn was already questioning what our date was and our driver wasn’t helping my plan to keep it a surprise. At this point I’m starting to panic because I didn't want Kaitlyn to catch on (which she’s good at doing). He finally drops us off and my nerves set in. Our Uber driver now had Kaitlyn questioning why we were dressed so nicely at a park! I remember telling her just go with it and she’ll understand soon. As Kaitlyn and I approached the proposal setup, the adrenaline started to take over. I had an entire speech planned but everything went out the window. All I could ask in the moment was, “will you marry me?". Thankfully she did not leave me in suspense and said “YES!” right away, making me the luckiest guy on Earth. As soon as I got up from my knee, we got a standing ovation from people in the park. I really could not have asked for a better trip or outcome to the proposal. It is a time I'll look back on with the biggest smile for the rest of my life.