Boonsboro, MD: Our Appalachian Trail Proposal at Annapolis Rocks
Andrew and I's proposal-aversary is on the 26th, so I thought it would be fun to share about our own adventurous proposal!
I met Andrew in college. He was a drummer in a touring band who happened to need some promotional photography for their new album. A friend of mine knew the band and invited them into the studio. When Andrew walked in, I had absolutely NO idea that we would get married. I admit, one of my first thoughts had been, "Woah- look at his weird nose! It's even more sloped than mine!" (I have told Andrew that and we still laugh about it to this day! >.<) My purse had been stolen the day before, so I had planned on driving back to Maryland that night to get a new driver's license. Andrew had sent me a message on Facebook after our shoot and said he had a great time- but I was too busy driving to answer back! It wasn't until months later when Andrew messaged me again, but this time he asked about kayaks and that he was thinking of buying one, and of course that had peaked my interest!
After that, we would stay up late chatting on Skype, talking about nearly everything. On Christmas day, we "officially" became "boyfriend and girlfriend." We dated long distance for 8 months- visiting each other in our respective states. At this time I had been living and working in Maryland, and he lived in Tennessee.
This is what most of our relationship looked like. Andrew's friend Colin would often pop in and say hello!
In August, Andrew came to visit for a few days. Before he arrived, he was adamant about me taking off work on Tuesday (the day after he arrived) so we could go hiking, of course I jumped at the opportunity to take him to one of my favorite places (ever) on the Appalachian Trail- Annapolis Rocks. Before we left, I had grabbed my camera that was brand new. He looked at me nervously and said, "What are you doing?" I said, "Taking my camera? Duh!" I was wondering why he questioned it since he knew I was a photographer. I found out later that he thought that I had found out he was proposing and that's why I brought my camera!
The closest AT trailhead happened to be a minute away from my home in Boonsboro (talk about being super spoiled by having such close access to the trail). The hike is about 2.5 miles up to the Annapolis Rocks outcropping, so a perfect distance for a day hike.
While hiking, I asked Andrew to hold onto my phone and he put it in his back pocket (where the ring happened to be). When we got to Annapolis Rocks, I asked him for my phone and went to grab it out of his pocket. He got a little nervous that I would find the ring (cant's say I blame him)! Naturally, I started taking some photos of our shoes and some portraits of him. Eventually, I turned around and there he was on one knee! I can't even remember what all he had said (all super sweet things, I'm sure), but I just remember him asking me the question and all I could say was, "I'm sorry, but I have to..." In true photographer fashion, I grabbed my camera and took a photo of him on one knee. I'm sure it felt like an eternity for me to finally say "yes," but I wanted that photo! Of course it's one of my favorites of all time and holds such a special place in my heart.
We then hiked back down the trail as giddy as could be- it almost didn't seem real!
When we got home, Mom had been sitting at the patio waiting on us to get home. We had to spill the news- of course she was just as excited as we were! The next task on our list was to call my best friend, Sarah, who immediately became my maid-of-honor.
The next day, I somehow convinced Andrew to go on another hike- our first one together as fiances! We drove to Harper's Ferry, WV and finally got to hike Maryland Heights- another favorite of mine in the area. We enjoyed our engagement week/weekend together and got to celebrate with my family. After that, it was time to start planning the wedding!
