Written by Gregory

The first time marriage ever came up between Savannah and me was at an Easter celebration in 2020. My aunt, never one to shy away from a direct question, looked at me and asked—right in front of Savannah—"So, are you planning to marry this girl or what?"

I turned to look at "this girl," and as I held her gaze, I answered with certainty: "Yes. Yes, I am."

Now, you might be wondering—if I knew I wanted to marry her in 2020, why wait five years? The truth is, we both knew we were each other's forever person. We weren’t in a rush to put a title on it. Plus, I wanted to surprise Savannah—and if you know her, you know she is the hardest person to surprise with anything.

That same year, I bought Savannah a small diamond heart ring—not quite a promise ring, but more of a sweet gesture… and a sneaky way to figure out her ring size.

Fast forward to 2023. Savannah, her mom, and I took a trip to Disney World. One afternoon, we wandered into a jewelry store in Disney Springs. Savannah and Deanna browsed for a bit and then walked out. I didn’t.

That day, I bought her engagement ring. I had already done my research and knew exactly what she would love, but I spent so much time in the store that I was worried she’d get suspicious. So, I came up with a plan—I bought her a pavé pear diamond necklace as a decoy.

A month later, the ring arrived. Now, I just had to figure out how to ask her.

Savannah had scheduled a photoshoot with a photographer in Oklahoma City. We had never had professional photos taken together, and she wanted to use them for Christmas cards. The only issue? The photographer canceled. Multiple times. In fact, she even tried to cancel on the day of the proposal.

That morning, Savannah was at the nail salon—getting her nails done for the photoshoot, but also because she knew I would be proposing soon and wanted to be prepared. When the photographer called to cancel yet again, Savannah was devastated. She called me, frustrated about how unreliable the photographer was.

I had to step in. I called the photographer, explained my plan, and made sure the shoot was back on.

That afternoon, we went to Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City on the coldest day ever. We were freezing. The photographer guided us through all the usual shots, and then, very awkwardly, set us up for the proposal.

The plan was for me to "run up behind Savannah and pick her up." She stood in front of me, completely unaware. Only one problem—the ring was in my jacket pocket because the box would have been way too bulky and obvious in my pants pocket. I ran back to put my jacket on, and the photographer, trying to play it cool, said, "Yeah, you guys should put your jackets on."

Looking back, that moment was probably a giveaway—but somehow, against all odds, we actually managed to surprise Savannah.

The photographer counted down from three to signal when I was supposed to come up behind her and "pick her up."

One... two... three...

But I didn’t move.

I guess we (the photographer and I) expected Savannah to turn around to see why I wasn’t coming to get her—but she just stood there. Later, she told me she was completely frozen, and deep down, she knew something big was happening.

So, I had to prompt her. Literally.

"Turn around."

When she finally did, her first words were: "What are you doing down there?" She was so confused—haha!

Once she realized what was happening, she let me say my spiel, and of course, she said yes.

And, as you can see in the photos, she decided she should also kneel down to say yes. It was such a special moment, and even though we had to wait for the pictures, we’re so happy to have them to tell the story with.

Deciding to marry my best friend was the easiest decision I've made.

S&G

Our Garden Wedding