Harrell Wedding // Engagement Story

- The Story of Us -

In short:

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We met the beginning of our junior year of college at the University of Alabama (roll tide). That year we had a lot of crossover in our lives. We both moved into apartments that happened to be next door to one another, were hired on to work at the same arts advocacy organization, ended up at the same church, and we even worked at the same camp in Hungary the following summer. At our core we are friends. A year of friendship, plus a year and a half of dating, plus 9 months of engagement have all been leading us to this big day!

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In long:

My initial impression was that he was weird-he seemed waaaay too friendly. But then we got set up as partners for a project the first week of our internship and things quickly changed. From our first time working together, I had a gut feeling that he was the one, which I know sounds crazy. My own thought was that that thought was totally crazy. I didn't date that much and I wasn't interested in dating at that point in time, and I definitely wasn't interested in him! I barely knew him! But, I made a little note of it in my journal "just in case" :)

While I wasn't for sure if we were going to be together for ever, by October of 2016, I knew I was interested in him. I remember confessing my feelings for him to a work friend while at the Texas A&M game. Over the rest of that school year we became close. Our work meetings would often turn into late night chats. I remember multiple nights going into Maxwell to work and we would end up talking a lot more than getting homework done. We just loved spending time together, and I was very continent to keep him as a good friend.

Over the summer things really sizzled out. This is definitely not the story of a couple finding each other while on a missions trip and falling in love. I didn't go there for him, so I kept my feelings as quiet and to myself as possible. We were both working at the same camp in Hungary, but we really were doing different things with different people, so we didn't see each other much. I was actually kind of angry at him after a few miscommunications, but things got patched up and dealt with after we got back to Bama. (s/o and many thanks to Molly Kate and my Mother who I talked to over the phone while abroad. I remember specific conversations that I had with each of them which helped me to keep my head on straight and stay focused).

Fast forward to the first week of school. Isaac started asking me very consistently to go on walks with him, to get tea, help him cook and other small ventures. There were some really funny miscommunications that happened along this process. We had a conversation about our feelings late one night at our college ministry's fall retreat. We were sitting out on the porch in rocking chairs sharing our hearts with one another. I was thinking *yes! we are on the same page* But somehow, Isaac walked away from the conversation with the idea that I didn't want people to think that we were dating, so over the next few weeks he very explicitly shared with everyone around us that we were not together. *cue more conversations*

We finally got on the same page for real on October 22. We were at a wedding in Florida for one of his close friends. He took me down by the water and we sat and talked. I don't remember every detail of the conversation but one line I do remember. He told me, "Andrea-you are lovely and you are a womanly warrior and I would be honored to be your boyfriend."

It's been a whirlwind ever since! Less than 12 hours after that conversation we got in a crazy car accident where a tree just snapped and hit us while we were going down the highway. Within a few weeks of us dating, both my mom and his dad got cancer. We did international dating for 6 months when he moved to the Philippines to work with International Justice Mission, and I moved to Kansas City to care for my mom during her cancer treatment. While his dad was able to make a full recovery, my mom was not. She passed away in December and it definitely has weighed heavy on us. But, she was such a fan of us being together! She was excited for us to get engaged long before we ever talked about it with one another. Isaac moved back to the states when my mom passed and has been helping me with cleaning my parent's house, prepping it for going on the market and all the other logistics and emotional burdens that come with a loved one's passing.

We are so excited to get married! While the past year and half of dating has been insane, I've never laughed so much or had so much fun. We really help ground one another and push each other to rest and enjoy all the good that is still around us. If we can work through all that we have thus far and still enjoy all the hard stuff this much, I can't wait to see what the future holds!

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Popping the Question

In short: It was my birthday! He got two of my close friends to take me away during the day while he got all the details set. When we were reunited, he took me to the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art where he got down on one knee. Watch the video here --> The Proposal Video

In long: I kind of had a hunch this was going to happen. When Brittany asked me if her and Hannah could take me out for my birthday I wondered if Isaac was behind the planning. Hannah isn't the best at lying so I asked her straight up if Isaac had put them up to this and she said that she had actually forgotten he was coming into town. It was believable so I let my suspicions rest.

I had an early morning call from a friend from college. We caught up for several hours before I even got out of bed. As I was getting ready for the day, Isaac decided that he would make me breakfast. I asked for waffles not thinking that they were a difficult item to make. However there was a bit of a mix up while he was making them (he accidentally subbed powdered sugar for flour), so the waffles were just runny-sweet-milky-eggs. So the day was running a little off of *his* schedule from the start but I had no idea there was a schedule to begin with.

Hannah picked me up and I had no idea what was going on until we got to our first stop. We were going to be having a progressive lunch: appetizers at one spot, entrees at the next, and dessert at a third location. It was such a fun day. We stopped and got flowers, went into a fun tea shop, and went window shopping in a few boutiques. Hannah kept asking about my nails, so my curiosity was once again raised. They honestly gave me the best birthday I've ever had. I was really nervous about having my first birthday without my mom here, but they were fantastic friends.

We went to a coffee shop where they handed me over to Isaac. (Thankfully we missed the shooting that happened outside of the shop just a few hours before). He was waiting with flowers in tow. We got coffee and he seemed so off. I could tell he was nervous but I didn't know why.

He told me we were going to be going on two different walks-but the first one I didn't have to worry about the walk. I was dying while we were driving to our next destination. What could these hints mean? When we got to where we were going (which turned out to be the Nelson-Atkins Museum of which is arguably my all time favorite place in the city) he pulled out a box of little mementos that he had kept from the course of our relationship. *Walk one equals a walk down memory lane*

Then we got out and walked around the lawn. It was really icy and I was wearing heals, but miraculously I didn't fall. When we got to the front of the building he got down on one knee and popped the question! Michael, one of Isaac's best friends, emerged from behind a statue (where he had been filming the whole time) and Hannah and Brittany reconvened with us.

It was so exciting but to be honest it was so overwhelming. While I knew that he was probably going to ask me at some point, it was a really big day and because of a few timing issues, we didn't end up getting time alone together until over 24-hours after the proposal.

The day after Isaac and I got engaged I was so overcome by emotions. Was I happy that I was marrying him? Absolutely. It felt confirmed by the Lord in multiple ways; I felt confident in our relationship more so than I could ever conjure up by my own desires. I knew it was good to be with him but there is a lot to go through.

In reflection I can now see that I was grieving a lot of different things. I was grieving that my mom wasn’t here anymore-that she wouldn’t get to see the ring or be there to say congrats. I was also grieving my current circumstances. The previous 8 months of caring for my mom and family were immensely difficult. I was just working part time where 25% of my earnings go to gas alone. This was not the life circumstance I pictured myself in when I would get engaged. I had pictured living in a cute house or fun apartment in a young and growing city. We’d go to dinner, he’d pop the question, then we’d go back to one of our houses and lots of friends would be there hanging out with cake in hand. We’d laugh and smile and it would all feel care free. However in reality, I felt self conscious and I wanted everyone to go away.

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I felt obligated to share some of this because it's so easy to look at other people and think---ahhh they've got it so good! We've had had dozens of people confess to us that they cried while watching our engagement video. And while the joy that our engagement video captured is real and we are living in that excitement, there was a lot more that went on behind the scenes that gives depth and meaning to our story.

I had felt so off and overwhelmed, Isaac actually redid the proposal the next day in my favorite tent in my basement. It was the most simple and glorious moment. For me, that's when I felt like I was really saying yes for real! Either way we are just so excited that now, we get to get MARRIED!
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Engagement is fun, and it's hard. I've heard the same said about marriage. So it's not that surprising that the proposal would be the same. There is so much more that goes on behind the camera. We are so excited to share and have you all join us in the grieving, the celebration, the crying and the fun-and everything in between!