In the groom's words...
"February 7, 2020 was the day I proposed to my best friend. One of the best days of my life.
It was also a day that could be categorized as a small hurricane.
Cynthia and I had talked about a rain backup since I planned to propose on the beach, but we never thought we would have to deal with 50 mph winds. With family and friends already flying and driving to Emerald Isle there was no chance of delaying it a day until things calmed down. So, we did what we had to do. We made the best of it.
I made up some excuses to run errands around town so I could get Amy out of the house and give our family and friends time to get there for the surprise."
"And while I was gone, Cynthia and Victor arrived with our family and friends to put together the new game plan for how we were going to propose in the elements. My older sister and I walked through a few scenarios while Amy was getting ready for the day, and we decided to do it on the dock between two houses as that was the best chance to block the wind. The best part, Cynthia and I never once spoke about the new plan. I just had to hope we were on the same page when I got back. Cynthia and Victor arrived an hour before we were due to get back and spent time capturing beautiful photos of our family and friends eating, drinking and enjoying themselves before the big moment.
Then, the fun happened.
Amy and I returned to the dock and when we made our way down Cynthia was right behind us, hiding from Amy every step of the way."
"As we got to the spot, the wind seemed to slow as I got on one knee. A blessing from none other than God himself. All the while, Cynthia was shooting photos of the proposal while Victor was upstairs taking photos of our family and friends watching everything unfold."
"The proposal was perfect. Wind-blown hair and all. But what happened next was the icing on the cake. As Cynthia took pictures of us facing the ocean our families quietly snuck out to the top deck. When we turned around, Amy was confronted by cheers of a joyous sound as she looked at me with shock in her eyes. It was probably the coolest moment of my life as I sat there soaking in the love of everyone who came to be with us."
"Those two cameras combined to give us memories that are honestly hard to put into words. Memories of the special moment I asked her to be my wife. Memories of our families hugging in the beach house after she said yes. Memories of our moms fighting tears as they watched through the same window as a daughter and a son say yes to the next stage of life. Memories of the shock on Amy’s face when we turned around to our entire family screaming from the top deck. Memories of our families all together in one place, for the first time, as we joined each other’s lives.
Memories that we will cherish for the rest of our lives."
-TJ Scholl
