The summer after our freshman year, we spent apart. I was a counselor at the Wilds of New England and Kaelyn was going to work at Camp Chetek in Wisconsin. After having some health issues, she ended up going home, but we still didn’t get to see each other that summer. We Facetimed and talked on the phone as often as we could, fanning the flame.
Top Photo: 2012 MBU Graduation our freshman year (her choir sang, my sister graduated)
Middle Photos: Summer 2012 as a counselor at The Wilds of New England
Bottom Photo: Summer 2012 Kaelyn with her sister, while home for the summer
When we got back to school in the Fall, I wanted to ask her to officially be my girlfriend. Before I could do that, I needed to talk with her dad. I know, normal people only ask a dad for permission to marry his daughter, but it was a thing then, trust me. As much as I wanted to ask him in person, I couldn’t figure out how to talk to him alone without her getting suspicious. Somehow, I was able to get his number and called him. I think the call lasted 2 minutes. He was way too easy on me. (Asking him to marry her may have only been 3 minutes, no dowry convo or anything.)
When it came time to ask her to be my girlfriend, I wanted to include some of her favorite things. I knew she loved jewelry, so I bought her a necklace & bracelet to give her right before I asked her, as well as a picture frame for her to put the picture we would take that night. At MBU, we couldn’t go off campus alone for a date, so we got good at double dating. Our friends, Brittany & Aaron, were one of our favorite couples to double date with, so they were the natural choice to join us that night.
It was the 15th of September, a perfect clean-cut, easy to remember date, which is exactly why I chose it. We drove up to Milwaukee and hung out by a river walk near the Milwaukee Art Museum. Then, Brittany & Aaron fell back as we went for a walk. There was this cool bridge that I had scouted out as a good place to ask her. When we got to the top of the bridge, I gave her the gift and asked her to be my girlfriend. Once again, she said yes and my heart exploded! How could I be so lucky!?
One of the things I learned about Kaelyn is that she loves surprises. Another thing that I learned, is that she is blissfully unaware when I’m trying to surprise her. It’s a pretty convenient combination if you ask me.
It was the summer of 2014. She had joined me in New Hampshire so we could both work at The Wilds of New England. We had a great summer, although we didn’t see each other a lot during the week. She was a counselor and I was the videographer, so our schedules were pretty different. We had been ring shopping together before, so she was hoping that I would propose sometime during the summer. Honestly, I got the ring before she came for camp. I wanted to ask her right away so she wouldn’t have as much time to figure it out, but God had other plans. Some other events in our family made it necessary for me to wait a bit.
I spy a little extra sparkle in one of the photos above. Can you find it?
Kaelyn is so sweet. She did her best to be patient and never complained to me. I did hear afterwards that the morning of the day I proposed, she was talking to one of her friends about how she was struggling to be patient because she really wanted to be engaged. Her friend teased her the next week that it must’ve been super hard to wait a few hours.
We were busy on the campsite during the week, but did have the weekend off to spend together. That didn’t give me any time to scout out a location in person without her. I had been to the public docks in Meredith, NH along Lake Winnipesaukee and thought it would be a perfect spot. I did as much google maps stalking as I could and then had my parents Facetime me from the spot during the week as a virtual stake out.
I had decided I didn’t want to tell Kaelyn I loved her until we got engaged. I wanted to be certain that I was going to marry her and she wanted to marry me before I said it. There was no Biblical reason or anything. I’m just weird. Looking back, it wouldn’t have been a big deal to tell her earlier. I just wasn’t sure when the right time would be.
Anyways, she knew I wasn’t going to tell her until we got engaged so once I said I love you, I knew she’d be greasing up her ring finger. In order to give her the biggest surprise, I had written the words I love you on the bottom of three rubber ducky animals (one was a giraffe since that’s her favorite animal) and put them in a pail of water. My parents were able to get up there earlier and put the pail by a bench facing the lake. They also hid the ring box in a bag under the bench and stayed close to keep an eye on it. (They were the real MVPs!) They hid it for me on site, becuase I didn’t think I would be able to hide the ring box in my pocket without her noticing. Surprising her was the goal.
At the beginning of the summer, Kaelyn and I had talked about going on a few intentional dates. This was 1) something I knew we would both love and 2) an excuse to encourage her to dress up a tiny bit without coming out and telling her what we were doing. In previous conversations about getting engaged, she had told me that if at all posible she wanted some kind of heads up so she wasn’t dressed like a vagabond. Well, she didn’t use those exact words, but I digress.
It was July 12th, and we were up at my family’s campsite in Alton Bay. They all made excuses to go off and do different things. Of course, I understood that they were heading out to set up and get hidden. I asked Kaelyn if she’d like to go on a special date like we had talked about. She perked right up but remained totally oblivious to my plans. (insert evil laugh) I went and changed into an outfit I had bought special for the occasion- a blue & red gingham button down shirt and white shorts. I thought if I dressed up a bit, that would be another subtle hint for her to do the same. She took the hint and changed into a pair of jeans and a nice gray tank with an elephant on it. I’ll never forget it. She looked adorable, per usual.
We had a great time chatting as we drove along the lake. When we pulled into the parking lot at the docks, she was all giddy. My girl loves her some quality time. So she talked my ear off about all the things as we walked closer to the bench by the water. Still, totally oblivious. In contrast, my game face was on as I scanned the path for our spot. My parents & brother had everything set and were hiding nearby to get a video. Our sweet friend, Emma, was also hiding nearby to take some photos for us.
We passed the bench to give Kaelyn the chance to finish her thought before I blew her mind. This made my parents panic for a minute, but it was fine. It was all under control. After circling back, we sat down on the bench looking out at the lake. It was the perfect day and she was the perfect girl.
I told her I had written her a little song that I wanted to sing for her. After doing so, I fished out the three little duckies and handed them to her. Before she read the message I wrote under them, I asked her to close her eyes. While her eyes were closed, I grabbed the ring and got down on one knee. When she opened her eyes, she read the words, I love you written on the bottom sides of the duckies. Then, I told her how much I loved her and asked her to marry me. She said yes!! We could hardly contain our excitement! She cried and I beamed! What an amazing memory!
Unlike a typical proposal, we actually didn’t kiss after we got engaged. Not because we didn’t want to or even that we hadn’t before. Earlier that summer, Kaelyn came down with mono. Our camp director teased us that if I got it, too, everyone would know we hadn’t been behaving ourselves. So, we waited until she was no longer contagious. Don’t worry, we made up for it when the time was right. Sorry, mom!
After I popped the question, we took a moment to thank God for bringing us together, which was the signal to Emma that she could come out of hiding and take a couple more photos for us! Those photos are so full of the joy we felt in that exact moment! There were so many exciting moments to look forward to now as a couple! My parents and brother also came out of hiding to congratulate us.
Across the street there is a gorgeous little waterfall where we took a couple more photos before saying bye to everyone else. There was also a quaint restaurant where we could eat outside while listening to the gentle roar of the waterfall. So that’s exactly what we did. It was so fun to be alone reflecting on all the details of the day and the events leading up to it. A sweet couple next to us overheard that we just got engaged and even paid for our dinner! What a blessing! After we finished eating, we headed back to the dock to call Kaelyn’s family and let them in on our news. Finally, we leisurely strolled along the lake for a while, filling the air with the sounds of our gleeful laughter.
Top 3 photos by Emma Catherine Photography