The weather was absolutely perfect. Patrick and I had decided to go apple picking before an afternoon engagement session. As we set out for Linvilla, it was hard not to feel a perfect sense of relaxation. The day could not have been more perfect. Crisp blue skies and just a hint of autumn in the air. Patrick reached out for my hand as we drove the back roads overlooking big open fields. For me, this was just a perfect day to spend with my man after an extremely busy wedding season. By this point, I had just about made it through shooting my first wedding season, filled with many double header weekends that kept us from really being able to spend much time together. I was thrilled to have a morning off to spend with my guy. As Patrick described it, his drive was not quite so relaxing. As we pulled up to Linvilla there was a pretty long line of cars waiting to enter the apple fields.
“Oh shoot,” I said, “maybe we will have to come another day.”
But, Patrick insisted that we should wait it out. As he tells it, that ring was just burning a hole in his pocket. We pulled in and as we held hands across the street towards the field, I just felt such a sense of peace. Patrick grabbed our basket and we headed out into the field. We walked the rows gathering different apples- Macintosh, Yellow Delicious, Red Delicious. We picked A LOT of apples! As we neared the back of the field next to the Jonathan apples (a name we laughed at quite a bit) Patrick turned out to face the back of the field. He put his hand in his pocket and just stared out into the clearing. I saw him standing there obviously contemplating something so I walked up behind him and just gave him a big hug. We stood there for a few minutes and then Patrick said, “Let’s pick a few more”. We walked up the row of Jonathan apples and I gathered a few more. “Grab that one up high,” Patrick instructed. I reached for the apple, struggling the grab it. After finally freeing it, I turned around to place the apple in our basket and saw Patrick down on his knee. At first I thought he was joking but then I saw something sparkling between his fingers. In that moment, I was stunned. Immediately tears rushed to my eyes as I was overcome with joy. Patrick looked up at me and asked me to spend my life with him, “I’ve loved you from the beginning,” he said. I’m not even sure what I actually said but clearly my answer was yes. As we walked back through the field, I was just in shock. I couldn’t stop smiling, and in that moment I realized that I really do get to share my life with Mr. Patrick Moore.
Patrick is the person who pushes me, makes me better, loves me unconditionally, and I feel so incredibly lucky to have him as my partner for life. I cannot wait for all that life has in store for us. On this day next year, we will be tying the knot! May 28, 2016. I can’t wait to share more of our journey and just enjoy this year with my love, Patrick.
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