Fairytale Engagement Part III

It is bittersweet to write this post today as it will be the last one surrounding our proposal day (until we get the video back) but I am still so excited for y'all to read what Joshua had up his sleeve in the last part of our adventure. 
If you're new here and have missed Part I and II, no worries! You can read them here:
Engagement Part I Engagement Part II
So flash back to last week and part II when he sent me all around my hometown searching for my next clue. I left you hanging when he sent me the last text on my tour of Greensboro and told me to read my next clue. So without further ado, we shall continue...
We were on top of the parking deck in downtown Greensboro when Leane handed me another clue from her purse which read:

With that, we left Greensboro and I headed back to Josh's home in Winston Salem as that was where the whole adventure had started that morning! Upon arriving I was greeted by a room full of candles, my dress hanging perfectly on the door, and my very last clue waiting for me on the table:

And yes ladies, all the music he had ready to play on iTunes were "our songs" from over the years. The funny thing was that this clue said I had till 5:30 to get ready...but it was already 5:32. If you remember from Part II, we got a little behind at the dress shop so that caused the rest of the day to be pushed back. Josh had been doing a great job communicating with all his helpers that day so Kellan informed me I now had till 5:45 to get ready. Only 13 minutes but hey, I'll take it! Everyone left the house except for my little sister Kristen and she helped me get into my dress, pin my hair back, etc.

The entire time I was trying to figure out who would be coming to pick me up and I was very confused when the door bell rang and I heard a male voice. My little sister told this person I was putting my shoes on and I would be ready in a second. Once I was finally done, I walked out into the hallway and for the first time that day the waterworks flowed. Standing in the door frame was the one person that I consider to be my little brother on this earth and someone I am so fortunate God placed in my life 8 years ago at mission camp. Sweet Dylan had driven 3 hours down from college to be part of our special day and it meant the world to me that Josh had remembered to include him in this moment. After all, I joke that besides my family, I had known Dylan the longest of anyone that helped that day. What can I say? He is my "little brother". So Dylan and his wonderful girlfriend (who had driven up from Wilmington) escorted me to his car and started driving.

At first I had no clue where we were going, as I am still trying to get familiar with the area of Winston Salem, but then I saw signs and my heart smiled. Joshua had brought me back to Tanglewood Park which was where I had driven him to see Christmas Lights on what we call our first "unofficial" date. Unofficial because we both liked each other then but were too nervous to tell each other and it was not until a few days later when we both admitted it. Driving through the park I was flooded with memories of that night when I convinced Joshua to ride 2 hours with me to see the lights and how I had made him stop with me along the way to meet my family. Talk about a nerve wracking first "date"!

Dylan kept driving and driving back through the park until we pulled up at shelter number 3. It was here that the park had just constructed a brand new lake and built a new walkway over the water. Dylan gave me his arm and he walked me down the steps to this area so pictured beautifully below. It was there that Dylan left me and the last part of this story happened.

Before I left on the journey of being a Traveling Leadership Consultant, Joshua wrote me a book of poems and bound it himself. I have carried this book of poems with me in my suitcase and every time I change schools I always bring the book out to read one or two. I guess Joshua had grabbed it our of my bag the night before because well, that book was laying on the ground along with the red rose he had been promising throughout the day. The rose was marking the poem titled "Have I told you I love you lately?" and so I stood in silence reading his beautiful words to me.

It was then after I read the poem that Joshua walked down in the most handsome suit and perfect blue tie to match my dress. At first I was just so excited to see him that I could not stop smiling and even though neither one of us remember everything he said (he talked for 6 and a half minutes) the one thing that made me start crying like a baby was when he told me: "Our entire relationship has been grounded on our faith and I know for a fact, that I will never be able to love you like God loves you because he will always be your number one. However, I promise to spend my whole entire life loving you in the best way that I can and showing you that love everyday."

And of course the picture that I love the most and the moment that my best friend became my fiancé!

After I said "yes"; Kristen, Dylan, Melinda, Shelby, and Kellan all came running down from where they had been hiding screaming and giving hugs. While I thought that was the ending of our special day, Joshua had two more things up his sleeves!

We jump in the car with Dylan and Melinda to leave the park. As we are driving Joshua had them pull over at Starbucks and he ran inside. He then came out with my favorite drink and for the name they had written "Future Mrs. G_______" ekk, make my heart smile!

We then drove to a wonderful restaurant in Winston and as we walk in we hear clapping and laughter. There stood everyone who had helped with the process that day; from our families to our closest friends, Joshua had them all gather for dinner!

And that my friends, is the story of how our 11 hour adventure across the state ended with the proposal of my dreams!

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Fairytale Engagement Part II

Happy Wedding Wednesday loves! I am sorry for not posting more the past few days but until I get off the road in three weeks, my time on the blog might be a little scarce due to finishing up cover letters, resumes, etc. for future job applications. But without further ado, here is today's wonderful story for you all! First up, if you missed reading part one of my engagement you can head back here to read that before continuing on with part two.

When we last left off, Josh's clue had told me to say goodbye to his family and head out of Chapel Hill with my little sister. We get to my sisters car in the parking garage to find out that Josh had already paid for her ticket to park there...seriously, how sweet was that? Kristen drives back out on the highway and after about 10 minutes she tells me to close my eyes so I do not see what exit we are getting off out. 

Low and behold, Kristen got off at the Hillsborough exit where the Formalwear Outlet is located. We pull into the parking lot and she pulls this clue out of her purse:

Yep, you read that right. Joshua had included a prepaid card in my clue with the right amount of money to buy a new dress and shoes! How did I get so lucky y'all? Now reminder, I'm a huge fan of the Bachelor so that is why he told me to pick out a dress that I would wear to my very own rose ceremony. The catch was I only had one hour and let me tell you, with prom season already here the place was packed. Our scheduled leave time was 1:00pm but I did not even get into a dressing room till 12:48pm. Needless to say I've never changed out of so many dresses in such a short amount of time! A few minutes after 1:00 I finally headed to the counter to purchase my dress. And yes, you will have to wait till next week to see exactly what it looked like :)

When we got back out to the car, there was a cooler waiting inside on my seat that Josh had dropped off while I was buying my dress. He had packed my favorite snacks and drinks for me to munch on as we had about an hour drive ahead of us to the next stop. This clue was inside the cooler: 

As soon as I saw the words "WEND" and "OVER" in capitol letters, I just knew we were going to my favorite nail salon in my hometown of Greensboro. Kristen did a great job driving us there and once we arrived in the parking lot I was given my next clue:

PRAISE! Through the years Joshua has picked up on the fact that I always wanted to have my nails done when I got engaged so he made sure to check that off his list when planning out this special day. Not only were Kristen and Shelby still with me, but two of my very best friends joined us as well. Leane, "my sissy", who I met through work at mission camp, and Sara, my ZTA sister, who I met on the very first night of recruitment when I was a freshman. We went inside to pick out our nail color and relax in the company of each other.

At the end of that clue above, Joshua hinted that my next location would be Center City Park in downtown Greensboro. Shelby, Kristen, Leane, and Sara headed with me to the park and of course Kristen had to eat her Moe's as we were walking. 

To my surprise when we got to the end of the park, my parents were there waiting for me!

Since our family loves the show "Amazing Race" my parents had come up with this cute little saying pretending I was the first person to arrive to the destination. (I later learned that Josh had no clue they did this so props to my parents for having fun with their "leg of the race"!) After they said their lines, my dad pulled my next clue out of his pocket.

Two years ago, Josh and I competed in the Finks Diamond Dash that happened in downtown Greensboro.  This "race" sends you around downtown Greensboro on foot to search for answers to clues that have been sent to your cell phone. Needless to say, Josh and I did not win and while I was sad that day about losing, I'm so glad now that we didn't win. If we had won that diamond ring, I probably would not have gotten the experience that I had on this special day! Anyways, Josh sent me my next clues through text message...aka "Diamond Dash Style":

The first clue sent me to the water wall fountain in the middle of the park:

Clue number two sent me to a historical marker for an old Methodist Church:

I then headed to Fincastles Diner:

And my last clue sent me to the spot where Josh first told me he loved me some four years ago!

Of course as you can see, he wanted me to actually go up to the parking deck to the actual spot where he had told me he loved me for the first time as we had watched the sun set over the city:

And that my friends is part II of the story! I cannot wait for the third and final part to be posted next Wednesday! I hope you all have a wonderful "Wedding Wednesday" and until then I'll leave you with a little behind the scene's photo that you'll see pop up on our proposal day video :)