valentines engagement session winner

Here is the letter I chose to win the engagement session. Thanks to everyone who sent in their stories of love and romance for me to read. It was very tough to choose, but there was something so sure, definite and lovely about this letter. Ashley, I love how you write, and I look forward to the chance to capture some of what you and Alex have in our session together.
Happy Valentines Day!!


      Just a normal day for me, sitting in the cafeteria at high school, I sat dateless for prom, contemplating weather to even go or not. One of my best friends, Avori started suggesting some of her boyfriend’s friends. Listening to her explain each of the guys to me, I sat thinking how pathetic it was. I listened to her briefly explain one of the guys named Alex. From the very few details she gave me, he sounded really interesting. Before I knew it I was set to meet him on a blind date that weekend. To make the situation less awkward Avori suggested her and her boyfriend come along as a double date.  I was so nervous; I pulled over 3 times on the way there, contemplating going home. I thought about making detours and hoping I would get lost and have to back out! Finally we reached Avori’s boyfriends place where they were inside making us a home made dinner. I walked in the house and instantly fell for him. There was an instant connection and we both kept wondering if we had met each other before. It just felt so natural, like we had known each other for years. The night went really well. I left feeling like maybe love at first sight really did exist, as corny as that sounds! He called me the next day and asked if I wanted to go watch fire works with him that night. He came and picked me up, met my parents and was asked by my mom to come back the next day for lunch as she was planning on having some close friends over. He didn’t want to be rude so he said yes, even though we hadn’t even known each other 24 hours!!  He arrived to my parent’s house the next day to find my WHOLE family there. I mean everybody! Every aunt, uncle, cousin, second cousin that I had! I felt so bad for him, but we ended up having a lot of fun! Alex ended up going to prom with me and from that day forward we spent the next 3 and a half years inseparably connected at the hip! 

Alex is the most amazing person I have ever met. He is a very hard working, supportive, romantic and really everything a girl could ask for. He is everything that I have always looked for in a guy. He is a very go with the flow kind of guy, which is the complete opposite of me so we compliment each other very well. We are both HUGE animal lovers and treat our puppy like our child (he is going to be our ring bearer...ridiculous, I know.) Alex and I have so much fun together, whether it’s having speed walking races through the Wal-Mart parking lot to see who can get to the car first, having a snow ball fights, or making him give me a piggy back ride and then him insisting that he have a turn as well. The fun things we do with each other are endless. I feel like when were together all we do is laugh. Even though I am only 21 and Alex, 25, we have talked about our big day for so many years and on December 18^th 2011 Alex insisted we take our new puppy for a walk to see the Ingersoll lights festival. It was a Sunday night and it was pretty late, but he insisted we go down to see the lights. Surrounded by flashing lights, Christmas music and lots of people, Alex got down on one knee, with our puppy sitting beside him, and asked me to marry him. I couldn’t believe it, I thought he was joking! I was so caught off guard I forgot to say yes, I just put the ring on my finger and hugged him! We got back to his parents house where they were waiting with Champaign and gifts! Getting engaged right before Christmas was great because we would get to share the surprise all our friends and family in person. My friends all said, “We knew you would be the first to get married, you guys are just so perfect” As greedy and conceded as it sounds, I love being told how lucky I am to have such an amazing guy. That never gets old. I never thought that a Blind date would end up this way. I always wonder why, out of all the guys my friend Avori briefly explained to me that day in high school, why this one guy stood out to me. But he did, and here we are, almost 4 years later, so crazily in love and so eager to start our new lives together.
Ashley