Rewind back to our first date. I took Rachel to a clearing in the woods called, “Whitetail Hollow” behind my parents house for a small little homemade pumpkin patch. We had supper, carved some pumpkins, and had some great first date conversation. However, I took a backwards, convoluted route to be sure Rachel wouldn’t know where this place was. This way, if I was going to propose to her, I would have a trick up my sleeve and a secret location for a wonderful proposal.

I knew I had to get Rachel dressed up nice, at my parents house, into the woods, and have all her friends there afterwards without her knowing. Rachel, my family and I, went out to a fancier restaurant for supper. We then went back to my parents house for “dessert” and to "watch the Dancing with the Stars premiere". Once we were back, my mom was “making dessert” for us, so we went to check out the forest in the meantime. Thankfully, I had a script for my family for them to talk about certain points during supper, so that when we went to the woods, it would seem normal due to what we talked about. Rachel, my sister Kaelen and I, all went through the normal route to the woods. Kaelen then got a fake phone call and rushed back to the house. We then appeared at the clearing, and Rachel knew exactly where we were. We were in the same spot as our first date, and I proposed. We took it all in, got some pictures, and then went back to the house. All of Rachel's friends were back at the house for a “Surprise Birthday Party”. Most of them guessed what was happening, but it was a fun surprise for all when Rachel's family, friends, and more were there to celebrate.

Ceremony and Reception