“The bride-to-be had no idea what was going on when the groom popped the question at their college alma mater. To top off the surprise there was a secret engagement party waiting for Kylee at a local bar after the proposal and engagement pictures. The party was full of out of town guests including the bride-to-be’s mother who lives a few states away. The day was full of loving emotion.” – Kristeen Marie Photography

“Our proposal is something I will never forget!  Joey and I both graduated from Indiana University, so Bloomington, IN is naturally dear to our hearts. Joey told me he had gotten tickets to an IU basketball game for December 1, 2012. I was so excited to be going back to Bloomington for some Hoosiers basketball and a little Kirkwood fun! As we headed down to Bloomington, we blared John Mellencamp and sung our hearts out. We went to dinner at a local Italian favorite, Grazi, and then decided to take a little stroll on the IU campus before we headed to Assembly Hall for the game.  As we walked down Kirkwood towards campus, Joey started talking to me about the idea of eternity. He told me about a new bible reading plan he had started that really dove in to God’s intentions for us as eternal children in Christ. We discussed this as we walked, and suddenly as we reached the beloved Sample Gates at the entrance to IU’s campus, Joey stopped and said, “Speaking of eternity, I have a question to ask you.” Of course I did the typical move of gasping and covering my mouth with my hands (it’s true, that move is a reflex when a girl is being proposed to!). I was so surprised and completely overwhelmed. Joey says in that moment, I kept saying over and over, “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” He asked me to be his wife, and clearly I said YES! As if all of that wasn’t enough, Joey had music set up for us to dance to. So we danced right there in the middle of the Sample Gates…which really was me burying my face in Joey’s chest as I cried like a baby. Joey had a secret photographer capturing every moment of the proposal. We even went around campus after I settled down a bit and took engagement pictures right away! And as if all of THAT wasn’t enough still, Joey had one more surprise. Once we finished with the pictures, we went to another local favorite, Nick’s, to grab a drink before the game. When we went upstairs, there was a huge group of our friends and family waiting to congratulate us! My mom flew in from North Carolina for the surprise, and even Joey’s 90 year old grandma who had never been to a bar in her life made the trip to celebrate. Joey’s dad hugged me and said, “Well, Kylee, if you still haven’t figured this out, you aren’t going to the basketball game!” And that was more than okay with me! I’m telling you, Joey thought of EVERYTHING. I am still in awe at how he was able to pull this off without me knowing a thing! It was such a wonderful day, and thanks to Kristeen of Kristeen Marie Photography, we will have pictures for the rest of our lives to remember every moment!

Kristeen is one of our close friends.  We are so lucky to know such a talented photographer.  Joey had been plotting with her for weeks behind my back about the special day!  She is wonderful, and I am so glad Kristeen was the one who was there that day.  Trust me, as someone who knows Kristeen personally and now professionally, she is absolutely fabulous!

We are DIY-ing a few things for the wedding. We are going to order flowers wholesale from Sam’s Club and make our own bouquets and boutonnières, which we did this for my sister’s wedding and they turned out great. We are also going to do the centerpieces ourselves, which will most likely consist of mason jars, floating candles, ribbon, flowers, etc. My cousin has almost 200 jars she used for her wedding that we will be borrowing.

Since I am not the most creative person in the world, Pinterest is the obvious go-to website I look at for ideas.  I love it because I downloaded the app on my phone and browse on my lunch break at work.”  -Kylee, the bride-to-be