5 months.
From the time Sean and I met to our engagement – 5 months.
I’m sure that seems crazy and maybe even stupid to some, and looking back I sometimes wonder what we were thinking, but honestly, that is all it took for us to know that we wanted to spend our lives together.
So let’s start from the beginning…
I had just finished a tough winter semester that had kind of broken me down a bit and I spent the following summer building myself back up and fine tuning who I was and what my plans were for the future. By the middle of August (2018) I was feeling confident and focused and ready to finish my final year of college strong, without any distractions.
I had been living at the same apartment complex for almost 3 years. I had an amazing friend group, a job that I loved, and a community that truly felt like home. I was happy and content. I had also kind of sworn off guys and dating and was excited to just have fun with my friends.
That was until, either the Sunday before Labor Day or the Sunday after (the exact date is under review), I remember I was talking with a friend after church when out of the corner of my eye I saw a tall, handsome guy that I had never seen before walking towards us. It was Sean. He introduced himself and was very charming. However, I remember standing there, barely saying a word, while he mainly talked to my friend, and then I went home and didn’t think anything of it.
Then I saw him again. He and his friends had moved into my apartment complex and one Sunday night, after our young adult congregation had met to pray together and chat before the upcoming week, my friends and I decided to play a little volleyball in the courtyard. Sean and his friends joined in.
Fast forward…
I had been asked to speak in church on Sunday, September 16th, so I was sitting up on the stand, waiting for the meeting to start, when in walked Sean and his friends. Guess where they sat – in one of the first rows, right in front of me. I remember Sean and I making eye contact a couple of times, it seemed like he couldn’t stop smiling, and that’s when the butterflies started.
The next Sunday, September 23rd, we were having a “Munch & Mingle” after church, basically a time where we would all stand around and chat and eat random snacks like cereal or bagels. I was talking with my friends, probably trying to eat a Costco muffin without making a mess when who happened to walk up and casually join the conversation? You got it…Sean. He slowly started directing all of his attention at me until my friends caught the hint and faded away. We talked for quite a while until my roommate and BFF Cassidy walked up and asked if I was ready to go. She was my ride so I politely turned back to Sean and said goodbye. Suddenly, he got this nervous/panicked look on his face. This is where the story gets good, we still laugh about it to this day.
As I was walking away, he basically lunged at me and asked if we could talk. I turned around, a bit alarmed, but now intrigued. I stood there, amused and entertained, because I knew what was coming next. I watched him go from Mr. Smooth to the most adorable nervous wreck, and out poured the jumbled words, “Would you like to go out with me?” or some variation of the sort. I instantly felt a smile spread across my face as I replied, “Of course, when?”
About a week later, on Saturday, September 29th, we went on that date…
He picked me up and we drove an hour to Salt Lake to hike Donut Falls. We hiked and then almost ran out of gas on our way out of the canyon, which would have made for an even more exciting day. We then drove another half hour to a restaurant that no longer existed, but that had been replaced with a little Venezuelan spot. We decided to try it anyway. Little did Sean know, my dad served a 2-year church mission in Venezuela, so eating there had special significance to me. We talked and laughed the whole time. There were no awkward pauses or lulls in conversation. We really connected and I felt calm and content.
And that was all it took. We became basically inseparable and spent ridiculous amounts of time together. We knew we wanted to get married pretty soon after that. I know that sounds nuts, but honestly, I knew Sean was special before we even went on our first date. He was different. He didn’t play games, he was straightforward, and I have never questioned how he feels about me. It was refreshing.
Around November, we decided that I would go home with him to Oregon for Thanksgiving and he would come and visit my family in Florida after Christmas, and then we would get engaged after that.
On January 29th, 2019, exactly 4 months after our first date, he proposed at the Provo City Center Temple, where we had already decided to get married later that year. It was simple and perfect, just the two of us and our friend Karsyn, who took a few sneaky pics for us. We went to eat at our favorite Chinese place (Shoots in Provo) after and that was it.
Then the wedding planning really began and almost five months later we were married on June 21st, 2019. The most perfect day! I am writing another post with all of our wedding/reception details for our 1-year anniversary. But in the mean time, enjoy a few of our personal photos and some of our engagement photos taken by our friend Dakota Corbin!
Elizabeth McGetrick 