One of my favorite activities as a jeweler that brings me great joy is working with people to create or find the “ring” to celebrate their love and engagement with the added benefit of getting to know them and their story of how they met.
This past October, I had the pleasure of meeting Cole to help create the “ring” for Cole to ask Gracie to marry him at his family’s ranch the weekend before Thanksgiving. After meeting Gracie for an adjustment on the ring sizing. I inquired if they would let me share, in addition to their engagement ring pictures, the story of how they met and a favorite memory they each had of them together. Here is their story.
How they met:
Gracie
Cole and I went to school together but didn’t cross paths much until I was 14 and he was 16. I had the biggest crush on him, and he asked me to be his girlfriend shortly after I turned 15. Although extremely fond of him, my parents had a rule that I couldn’t go on a date until I was 16. So for nearly a year, he spent Saturday nights eating dinner with my family and sitting on my couch. I was so scared he would rather be with a girl he could take on dates all the time than with me, but he was so kind and patient, and I fell in love with him. We dated for two years throughout high school. He was my first boyfriend, my first kiss, and unavoidably my first heartbreak. We went off to different colleges and dated other people. We reconnected after four years of not speaking to one another. In that time apart, we both grew a lot and realized we had never really stopped thinking about the other. After three months of dating again, I knew I wanted to marry him. He proposed four months later! I was the girl who didn’t believe in the whole “when you know, you know” saying, but now I am confident that couldn’t be a more true statement. His character is beautiful- he is still the patient boy I loved in high school, and life has seasoned him into a man with a wise mind and a caring heart. I cherish his love for Christ above all else, knowing He will lead in a way that always brings glory to God. I couldn’t be more in love and more proud to be his wife THIS year!
Cole
We met while I was a Sophomore, and she was a Freshman in High School. Our relatives both had cabins on Lake Texoma, and our paths started to cross one summer and haven’t stopped since. I first noticed her long brown hair and beautiful smile, and I eventually fell in love with the way she serves Christ and others.
A favorite memory:
Gracie
On one of my first visits to see him in Minnesota, we drove to see Lake Superior. A friend had recommended a seafood joint to us, and along the way, we talked about what we would order and how the restaurant was probably so cool being right off the lake. After a few hours, we finally arrived. It was a run-down building, tinier than a gas station. We turned off the car keys and stared at each other until we erupted with laughter. There was no seating and much less – no buttery shrimp or beer-battered cod strips. The only seafood that existed was staring back at us in the form of whole smoked fish. Looking into the charred eyes of the variously flavored scaly creatures, I could hardly keep my composure. In fear of looking stupid, Cole ordered one while I walked out to let out some serious snickering. Once back in the car, we laughed for hours until our stomachs hurt. We never ate the fish but resorted to calling it “Walter” and sticking it in the freezer for the next time we needed a good laugh.
Cole
There are so many funny moments we have shared together. One that comes to mind is when we accidentally ran through a field of highly allergic grass while looking for a fishing spot, and I carried her on my back to the house where we would spend the rest of the evening applying heavy amounts of medication to our ever-stinging legs.
My favorite moment of the engagement was the short time we shared afterward when the photographers had left the proposal site. We spent this time together in complete admiration and thankfulness for the work the Lord did to bring us together.
An October 16, 2021 wedding is planned at The French Farmhouse in Collinsville, TX
