Today I want to tell you a story about a raven haired girl named Jennifer and a dashing boy in a a white uniform named Andrew. Jennifer and Andrew met when Jennifer was working as a Resident Assistant at the apartment complex in which Andrew lived. Andrew had worked there the year prior and knew most of the staff. Jennifer, however, was the “new girl”. One night, he decided that in order to get to know the new girl, he would play a prank on her. The two ended up spending the whole night talking and became fast friends. A little while later, the two revealed to each other that they had developed feelings beyond that of friendship.”
Jennifer says she knew Andrew was the one when “We each experienced our first Christmas away from home together our senior year of college. It was tough on each of us. Although we had only been dating a few months by that point, we decided to spend Christmas together. Andrew knew that I was having a hard time getting in to the Christmas mood, so he snuck in to my apartment one day when I was at work and I came home to find him hanging Christmas lights around the perimeter of the whole apartment. Christmas evening, I had wanted to cook a nice dinner for us, however I failed miserably. I was pretty upset about it. Andrew, knowing that A Christmas Story is both of our favorite Christmas movie, suggested that we live it out and go out for Chinese. Sure enough, we found an open Chinese restaurant and ate our first Christmas dinner there together. I knew Andrew was the one right then and there not only because of his thoughtfulness and compassion, but his ability to see the humor in a crummy situation and make it the most memorable Christmas I’ve ever had. I hoped at that point that this was someone who would be in my life for a very very long time.”
Their engagement was unusual, but memorable. “In true Andrew fashion, he turned a crummy situation in to a wonderful memory. Andrew was set to commission as an officer in the US Navy and I had planned to fly in and see him. Now, during this time, I was living in California and he was living in Rhode Island and we had not seen each other for almost 6 months. Andrew was planning on proposing while I was there by taking me to the cliff walk overlooking the ocean. The morning that I was supposed to fly out, Andrew called me and said that due to an issue with his medical records, he would not be commissioning the next day. Furthermore, he said that due to his now-ambiguous status, he was restricted to the hall for candidates who were awaiting approval to commission. This meant that he could not leave the base and he could not see visitors. We were both distraught. I chose to fly out anyways, hoping that something would change. When I arrived, Andrew informed me that he would be able to see me for two hours each night that I was there. He had explained to his commanding officer that I had made plans to fly out there and that he was planning to propose. His commanding officer made an exception and allowed him to spend a short amount of time with me each day. One night while I was there, Andrew picked me up from the on-base hotel and drove me to the edge of the base where the sun was just setting. While we sat in his car, he handed me a scrapbook that he had made out of cardboard, string, and paper. Each page contained the name of a state that we had visited together along with some memories for each visit. The last page was Rhode Island, where he had written “will you marry me?”. We may have been dealt a crummy hand with that particular trip, but as per the usual, Andrew did everything he could to make the best of the situation.”
And that, internet friends, is Jennifer and Andrew’s amazing story. It’s a safe bet that they’re going to live happily ever after.
Jen and Andrew’s Creative Team
Venue – Treasury on the Plaza
Caterer – Purple Olive
Cupcakes – Happy Cakes Bakery
Music – Perfect Entertainment
Flowers – A Fantasy in Flowers
Day of Coordination – Coastal Celebrations
Hair – Angela Byrd
Make Up – Make up by Jamie B
Dress – Stella Yorl
