Right now there are 8 months, 21 days, 7 hours and 55 minutes until my wedding…but who’s counting? Looking at the numbers, it seems like a long time away, but when I think back to the night that I was proposed to, the last 6 months have flown by! Speaking of proposals… Mine was romantic, unexpected and totally worthy of sharing.

The Proposal

I think it comes as no surprise for the people that know me well, but I am such a planner and my routine normally goes something like this:

1. Plan
2. Stress
3. Repeat until the task is complete.

I was in the middle of going through my planning cycle for our annual Black Alumni of SMU Scholarship gala (shameless plug: you can donate now at http://www.smu.edu/blackalumni) and the process was becoming a little stressful. This year I was serving in a dual role — helping to coordinate the gala and also being an award recipient so my perfectionist meter was on a million. I told my friends and family to get tickets for the big day and anxiously set on selecting my gown. Bouncing around from store to store, I actually ended up buying 3 dresses for the gala with the expectation of choosing which dress to wear right before the event. Ironically, I joked with my mom that for all the efforts to find a gala dress finding a wedding dress was going to be terrible because obviously I couldn’t buy 3 wedding dresses to figure out which one I liked the best.

A few days before the event, James (my now fiancé) told me that he wasn’t going to go because he knew my brother really wanted to attend and I didn’t have enough space for everyone. I WAS LIVID. To quote the movie White Chicks “I am about a have a B.F.” and that’s pretty much what I did…. screaming, crying… I pulled out ALL of the stops.

For several reasons, I considered not attending the event, but luckily I expressed my apprehension to one person. This was a testament that God works in mysterious ways because thankfully that person knew about the surprise proposal and talked me off the ledge (thanks Ashley Hamilton!). Towards the end of the event, Devean Owens is closing the event and says ” We have one last presentation, can we get Lauren Driskell to come up to the stage?” I was totally confused and afraid to walk back to the front by myself.  

While I’m I’m standing there, D’Marquis, one of the students helping to coordinate the event, came out singing “All My Life” by K-Ci and JoJo. I remember thinking “this is so awkward that he’s randomly professing his love to me in front of all of all these people!” Shortly behind him was James with a single rose. He took the microphone and said some of the most beautiful words and got down on one knee and the rest is a sweet memory.

I hope you all will continue to follow my journey to Mrs. Jones and I’ll do my best to chronicle my experience along the way!

– L