NOTE: This post will be a lot longer and detailed than my fiance's post.

Early On…..

I met Tanner on my first day as a college student (around August 18th 2014). We were both grouped in the same University 111 class. The week before classes started, freshmen had to participate in the overwhelming and exhausting freshmen orientation with their university 111 group. I remember that first day of orientation. I looked around the room to notice who was in my group and to see if there were any cute boys of course. I remember looking at Tanner and thinking he is an okay guy, but nothing really sparked my attention right away (it was not love at first sight...). I remember noticing that he had a strong southern accent and I kind of judged him from being from Boiling Springs, NC, where Gardner-Webb is located at.

Throughout the week of orientation, Tanner and I talked some and the first conversation with him that I can remember was telling him that I fished and him telling me that he was going to take me fishing in Lake Hollifield one day (still hasn't happened...). That week, we were also working on the dreaded lip sync performance that all university 111 groups had to put on. I remember that somehow Tanner was my partner in the square-dancing part of the performance and I remember trying to give him hints that I was not interested in him. He asked for my number that week and asked if I wanted to sit with him and his friends at the Sidewalks Prophets concert that was happening that week. I decided "why not" and my friends and his friends sat together.

Two weeks passed and Tanner was still around. He even came to my birthday party the week before. I kept telling myself that I was not interested in him and I wanted him to stop talking to me so much, but for some reason I continued to get to know him more and hang out with him. It was around this time that Tanner asked me to go to his former high school’s football game because I told him I had never been to a high school football game because my high school did not have football. I assumed that the game was a home game, and that meant it was only 10 minutes away. I agreed and little did I know, the game was actually an away game that was an hour away. In Tanner’s defense, he didn’t know either. So here I am, in a car driving an hour away with a guy that I had only known for two weeks. I remember telling him “I must trust you a lot to be riding this far with someone I just met.” And to be honest, I did really trust him and it felt normal, as if I had known this guy for a long time.

The game was fun and after the game, we went to Dairy Queen where Tanner paid for my meal. I guess you could say that was our first date together. I remember thinking that he was a gentleman for paying for my meal and that he was a pretty good guy. I still told myself though that I was not interested and could not see us working out. I portrayed that to him as well, and tried to friend-zone him as much as possible, knowing that he was interested in me.

In October, my family came to visit and somehow, Tanner was around, just as he always was. He told me that he wanted to meet my family so I let him come over to my dorm of Decker and he met my family outside. My family loved him and wanted a picture of him and of me and him. I was so annoyed and embarrassed and was frustrated that my family was all about this guy that I was not interested in. Looking back, I realized that families know best and first and this was a clear sign that maybe I was meant to be with this guy.

A few months passed and Tanner was still in the friend-zone. I remember having conversations with him and telling him repeatedly that he was just a friend and it wouldn’t work out with us, but he did continue to pursue me. My friends and family all wanted me to be with Tanner but I kept pushing that away. I even tried dating someone else but that did not work and Tanner was still there.

Feelings Form….

That summer after freshman year, Tanner and I were hours apart and I did kind of miss him. He was working at Caswell that summer and I continued to stay in touch with him but we did not talk as much as we did at school. Then, he told me that he had a girlfriend and I felt very jealous and almost betrayed because he was always trying to pursue me and I was the one that he wanted to date. I did not understand why I felt so sad and distraught about it if I was the one who was constantly trying to friend-zone him. I should have been happy that he was dating someone else, but that was not the case. Maybe I did have feelings for him. Maybe the guy that was always there is the guy that will always be there. Maybe I did want to and know that we were meant to be together.

We continued to talk over the summer and we Skyped a few times. These Skype calls lasted for hours and I was realizing that this guy named Tanner from Boiling Springs was actually my best friend who I did have feelings for. I did want to date this guy that I had pushed away for so long.

When Tanner told me later in the summer that him and his girlfriend did not work out, I was overjoyed and tried not to show it too much. Going back to school sophomore year, Tanner and I went out on a date to Italian Garden near Gardner-Webb and I went over to his house to hang out with him and his family. We played games and I remember thinking how natural this was and how much I did fit in with his family. His dad showed me the family book and I thought this was so cool that they had a family book of their family history. I thought in my head that I was probably going to be in that book one day, and I think this was when I knew that Tanner and I would be together for a long time.

On September 20th, 2015, Tanner asked me to be his girlfriend. He asked me by the Boiling Spring on Gardner-Webb’s campus. I was of course awkward when he asked me out and was expecting him to ask me the following week because we were going to be with our families then. Saying yes to being his girlfriend was one of the best decisions of my life, right behind saying yes to being wife. I did not know it at the time but I would come to discover a love that was so deep and caring, and one that exemplified the love Christ has for his bride, us.

The Proposal...

We dated for a little over a year and a half before Tanner decided to pop the question. We had been talking about getting engaged for a long time, practically since the beginning of our relationship, so this proposal was a long time coming. On April 1st, 2017 (yes, on April Fool’s Day), Tanner asked me to marry him in front of a crowd of hundreds of people.

We were at a concert of one of our favorite bands, Balsam Range (a bluegrass band) when the proposal happened. The day of, I had no idea that Tanner was going to propose because I was under the impression that it was going to be later in the summer when it happened. Before the concert started, I had a few suspicions that it was happening but I did not want to think too hard into it. When Tanner stepped away from his seat and the band said they were going to be giving away a door prize to the seat number that they called out, I knew what was happening. I did not even look at my seat number because I knew it was mine being called. I nervously and excitedly walked on stage, in shock that this was actually happening. To my surprise, the lead singer who had once been my square dancing partner, asked me to clog on stage with him (thanks Tanner….). I clogged for what seemed like forever before Tanner finally came on stage and the moment I had been dreaming of since a little girl was about to happen.

To be honest, I do not remember exactly what Tanner said to be in that moment, but I do know that I was so overjoyed, excited, and surprised that this wonderful man of mine was asking me to marry him. I laughed in this excited, awkward laugh most of the time he was proposing and then he got on one knee and asked me to marry him. I may have softly said yes, but I did stick out my hand which Tanner received as a clear sign that I was saying yes and put the ring on my finger. Walking off stage, my family and two friends came out from hiding in the back and I ran to them and hugged them. My friend Brianna took pictures of Tanner and I after the fact and this was when I first really looked at my ring and it all started to sink in. We sat back down to enjoy the rest of the concert, and I began to cry as I thought about what had just happened and what was going to happen. I was engaged. I was going to be getting married to the most amazing man for me. I had found the right person for me and God was bringing Tanner and I together, as a team, to accomplish more in His name than we could on our own. What a beautiful and breathtaking thought.

Looking Ahead...

Here it is December 29th, 2017 and I cannot believe that I will be getting to marry Tanner Hoyle in almost five months now. We do not have it altogether, we do not know where we are going to live at, and we do not know exactly what God wants us to do in this next chapter of our lives, but I do know that whatever happens, I will have Tanner right by my side for the rest of my life to walk through life with and that is the most comforting and peaceful thought. I think to myself sometimes that I do not know how I got so lucky, but I am truly blessed beyond measure and I am so excited to see where life takes us. The support of our families and friends has been so great and we are so blessed to have each person in our lives. I cannot wait to become one and establish the covenant of marriage with Tanner on June 9th, 2018.

Sarah and I met on the first day of freshman orientation at Gardner-Webb. We became friends fairly quickly and though I wasn’t sure what, I knew there was something special about her. As time went on, I began to realize that I wanted more than friendship. Though she didn’t agree to it at first, after a year of convincing, she agreed to be my girlfriend. We dated for over a year and a half before I proposed.

My earliest memory of actually spending time with Sarah was when I invited her to go with me to a football game that my old high school was playing it. Little did I realize it was an hour away. Still, she agreed to go and we had a great time getting to know each other and spending time together. Afterward, we went to Dairy Queen for a snack and I paid for her food (even though it “wasn’t a date”).

I don’t really know that there was ever a specific moment when I knew Sarah was going to be the love of my life. She just gradually worked her way into my heart and soon I knew I had to ask her out. One night, we were sitting at the Boiling Spring at Gardner Webb and I asked her to be my girlfriend. Because of the time we had spent together and the bond we had, I knew this was a relationship unlike any other I’d had.

During the summer of 2016, I worked my second summer at Caswell and Sarah and I were separated. During one of our many Skype calls, we joked about getting engaged in the spring. After talking a little more about it, we had talked ourselves into it. Before I knew it I was on one knee on a stage at a Balsam Range concert in front of hundreds of people. I still can’t remember what I said to her, and though she never technically said she would marry me, I took the laughter and crying as a yes. Of course I was overjoyed, and though I was never really nervous, I was relieved to finally be engaged to my best friend.

The next summer was one of the hardest times for our relationship. I had to do an internship at Fort Caswell the entire summer and though we had spent the summer apart before, this was the first time we had to spend it apart as an engaged couple. The time apart was hard, but the saying is true. Distance makes the heart grow fonder. Once I made it back, I was able to pay her ring off and really get started with the wedding planning.

We may not have it all together and who knows when and if we ever will, but we have faith that God will direct our path. Sarah and I are so incredibly thankful to friends, family, and most importantly, God for making our story possible. It has been a great ride so far and we are excited to see where God is taking us for the future.