I love when I sit down with a couple who are newly engaged and they tell me their love story. Its a passion of ours to tell your love story through our photos on your wedding day and it brings us such joy to do so. Coty and I first met in August of 2004 at Grace College, it was welcome weekend. I remember going downstairs to the alpha dorm lobby and in walks this All American boy from Indiana. He had on cargo shorts, a red tshirt and a white sox hat, in my eyes the all america guy. My very good friend Juli was from a small town just 30 minutes from school called Bremen, same town Coty was from. Her and her sister Kari first introducused us right there along with his very cute friend Louie. About a month later I was hanging out with his friend Louie and he says to me “he just isn’t good for you, you deserve better.” and I remember saying “who do you have in mind?” obviously meaning him. He got the hint and we started dating right away. It was like this crazy whirlwind of college love. He played baseball and I’ll admit, there is just something about a guy in baseball pants. We were the typical college couple, in love, talking about marriage. Well after school ended I went back to Ohio and he went back to Bremen. The distance got to us a little and we broke up. In January of 2006 we started hanging out again. It was one of those things where we knew we wanted to be together but the timing just wasn’t right. By spring time, right after Easter, is when we both got our lives right and realized we were meant to be together. At the time Coty was not at Grace anymore and he was coaching his high school’s baseball team. I remember showing up at a game and there he was again in a baseball uniform and it was as if I fell in love with him all over again.

On the 4th of July my family got together at the lake we always go to for some boating, cooking out and camping. I knew Coty wanted to have a little chat with my dad so of course I prepped them a little for that. Its like the warning before the warning? Well anyways it turned out to be a talk before a talk for Coty and my dad. Later that month we flew out to California for my Grandparents 50th anniversary, such an amazing week that way in San Diego. Coty flew out a couple days later to meet us out there and to meet my dad’s side of the family. I had hinted to him that I’d love to get engaged on a beach, of course he then said it wasn’t going to happen there now because he wanted it to be a surprise. Coty is all about the surprises. He used to hide behind the bushes at college and he would see me coming, he’d pop out and I’d scream so loud I swear people thought I was being abducted. He still pops out of places to get a scare out of me. Anyways, there I was laying out with my aunts telling them it wasn’t going to happen in California, I didn’t even think he had the ring. Well on July 23rd we went out to dinner and then walked along the cliffs in La Jolla and on our way back to the hotel, not engaged but so happy, I was okay with not getting engaged there. Then he asked me to take a walk. He then proceeded to get down on one knee 3 times, first to tie his shoe, then to take off his shoes then to finally ask me to marry him. Of course I was shocked and can’t remember what he said but I obviously said yes. So 4 years later, here we are in Delaware Ohio with a beautiful baby girl, a thriving business and still very in love. Of course we had some bumps along the way but I can’t imagine my life with anyone else but him.

So in honor of Valentines Day, Molly’s first, my first as a Mom… here is Molly in her Valentines outfit!