It all started on the eve of our Independence Day, 2016. I (Jared) had arrived early to the beautiful lake house of the Edick's and was sitting back enjoying the cool July night. Then, there she was. Lindsey came walking down the side of the house, hair blowing in the wind followed by the infamous 5 finger flip to remove some stray curls from her face. She was wearing a floral kimono that accentuated her brown eyes and tan skin and I knew at that moment that there was something special about this girl. Throughout the night we made small talk and I tried to sit by her on the boat and around the fire but didn't have any luck. After the night ended we said a brief goodbye but in my mind I was saying "I'll see you later."  

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The next day, people were returning to the lake and I initially planned on passing on the invite. However, I knew I had to go and talk to Molly Edick about getting this beautiful girl's number. Molly luckily hooked me up and I had her digits in my possession.  Of course I waited about 3 days before calling Lindsey because I didn't want to seem desperate. While dialing her number I felt as nervous as a high school freshman asking a girl to homecoming. Those nerves vanished as soon as I heard her voice. We ended up scheduling a date for July 9th, in an older part of Omaha called Dundee. We met at my place and rode together in the Camry taking neighborhood streets the entire way to the restaurant. We ate and talked with ease. Following dinner we got ice cream and sat on a bench talking about everything you could imagine for hours.  

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Jared loves to tell the story of how we met. Usually I (Lindsey) interrupt him after his first sentence, but I thought I'd let him tell the whole thing for once. Now it's my turn to pick up where he left off. We were "friends" for quite awhile until Alyssa, my roommate, told me to call it what it is, and that we were in fact dating and he was not just my friend but my boyfriend. So after small group, with our church one night I told him I was ready to call him my boyfriend. 

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We had lots of fun being an "official" couple. We went on lots of of walks, to Central football games in the fall, basketball games in the winter, tried out lots of different restaurants, took Jared to a movie theater for the first time in 10 years, introduced him to Chick-fil-a, played some sand volleyball, kickball and so much more. Then spring break came around and I (still Lindsey speaking) went on my annual spring break trip with my friend Cally, her mom, my mom Marcy, and one other friend. It was when I was away from Jared for a whole week that I realized how much I truly loved this sweet man. I think Cally wanted to kill me because somehow I found a way to talk about and squeeze Jared into almost every single conversation we had on the beach!

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Finally got out of the friend zone, what a day! (Jared speaking) Once Lindsey returned home from spring break, the wedding talk started flying around like birds during migration. I already knew I wanted to marry her but was hesitant to be the first to bring it up so I'm glad she dove right into it. Before I knew it, I was out with my mom and sister ring shopping. Luckily it wasn't very difficult because Lindsey was very helpful and specific on what she wanted.  She knew that a proposal was coming at some point but wasn't sure exactly when. I used this as my last chance to be in control of something. So after talking with Michael and Marcy, I had permission and a blessing to ask this amazing girl to be my wife. I decided that July 9th would be the day.

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The day of the proposal, our group of friends planned to float down the Elkhorn River. There were numerous speed bumps leading up to us actually getting in the water and I was getting a little nervous about making our 1 year anniversary dinner reservation on time.  As we floated down the river with everybody that knew the proposal was happening that night and the drinks were flowing, I was praying that no one would slip up and ruin the surprise. We ended up making it to the end with nothing spoiled and time to spare.

 

After cleaning up and taking a quick nap I pulled up to Lindsey's house in the classic 07 Toyota Camry. We went and had dinner in Dundee and I tried my best not to act weird and also hide the giant ring box in my pocket. After dinner, we made our way back out to the bench that we spent hours talking on during our first date. We talked for a while and Lindsey tried to redefine what crop dusting was after letting one slip. I tried to transition her comment into something romantic. Then it was time. I got down on one knee and asked Lindsey to marry me.  As this was happening Lindsey might have said "you better not be joking," but once she saw the ring she thankfully said yes.

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I (Lindsey here) had my suspicions that something was happening that night, especially since Jared kept looking at his phone which he NEVER does, but I tried not to get my hopes up too much since Jared kept telling me it won't happen when I was expecting it. My family and friends did a great job of hiding things and telling me just enough to not lie to me about the day/evening. Jared did a great job surprising me, getting our friends and family together, and documenting the moment! It was a great day that I'll always remember. That bench in Dundee will always be a special place for us.  

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We are SO excited to get married, get all of our favorite people together for a big party and spend the rest of our lives together! We hope all of you can be a part of our special day. 

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