Kansas City Wedding Photography | Allison Marie Photography

It all began with a simple introduction at church last fall. I am not one to typically introduce myself to guys at church, but apparently this one time was an exception. I learned his name was Grant and he had just moved to Des Moines from the Twin Cities, which created an instant connection since I went to college up there. We gathered basic info about each other, and (after giving him my business card, of course!) we parted ways. On my way home after church, I was stopped at a red light, and I happened to look to the car next to me and guess who had his windows down, singing loudly to the music on the radio??? You guessed it! Later I discovered how embarrassed Grant was!!

Over the next few months, Grant and I occasionally got lunch or dinner together, and hung out in groups with each other. We enjoyed spending time together, but neither of us seemed interested in each other. Grant had somehow gathered the idea that I was shallow- a smiley girl with a pretty face who lacked depth. Little did I know that after meeting me for the first time, Grant told his coworkers, “So, I met this girl at church today…she’s going to be my wife, she just doesn’t know it yet.” Grant had never thought this about any other girl after before me…which kept him intrigued by me. Was there a reason he thought that? Was that God who put that thought into his head? Why would God allow him to think that if it wasn’t true?

A few months ago, we met at Caribou to catch up on life. He had a girlfriend at the time (which I learned was only made official the day before, and he had only met her a couple times since she didn’t live in the area), so I asked all sorts of questions about her and congratulated him. We ended up having really great conversation, full of depth about life and God, family and friendships. I had to hurry off to worship team practice, but I said I’d stop by his place afterwards to meet his little puppy. When I left Caribou, I received a text from him that said something like, “I feel like I just met this really cool new person I didn’t know was there.” I totally agreed. Why hadn’t we connected like this before?! When I stopped by his place after rehearsal, we realized neither of us had eaten dinner, so he introduced me to Tasty Tacos and we continued our really great conversation. When it was time for me to head home, I dug my hand in my purse to get my keys…they weren’t there. I frantically looked in my car, and there they were. I was humiliated. So, Grant drove me down to Indianola to get my spare key, and during our drive we played the question game. We took turns asking each other questions, and I began to be so drawn to his personality and character. I remember thinking, “I could ask him questions for years and still not know everything there is to know about him!!!”, and I loved that. A couple days later, Grant informed me that since the day after our Caribou/hunt-for-my-keys adventure, he was single. We began spending time together, and it became obvious to both of us fairly quickly that we fit together really well. After only a couple weeks, the thought of living life without him was dreadful.

To jump ahead in time and make this long story a little shorter (because there are SO many details I’m leaving out!!!!!), a couple weeks ago, Grant began emailing me a photo a day of reasons why he loves me. He told me the photos would end with him putting a ring on my finger…but he had convinced me I had a while to wait before that happens. On Thursday July 15th, Grant asked me if I would marry him, and I SAID YES!!!!! He came over to my place and played & sang for me a song he had written, and before I knew it, he had pulled me to my feet, and he was down on one knee with a gorgeous ring in his hand!!! We laughed and giggled and smiled and cried, as we tried to let it soak in that we were engaged!!! I absolutely could not be more blessed by Grant. He is an incredible man, and I am the luckiest woman to get to spend life with him!

Oh dear friends, there are so many details I’ve left out. Feel free to send me a message if you want to hear more! =)

Here is a pic my mom took after we shared the news with her and my dad:

So, the wedding planning had begun, and it has been a BLAST so far! I never dreamed I would actually ever be on this side of wedding planning! If you have any really great tips as we begin putting together details for our big day, leave a comment with some ideas for me!!! =)