April 20th, 2007 - the night we met!
How We Met
Jessica went out to dinner one night with her friend, Jacki, in early 2007. The waiter asked for Jacki's number, and they began to date. The waiter's name was Brandon...who was best friends with Derrick. Jacki met Derrick and immediately thought that he was great for Jessica. She told Derrick that he should go on a date with her friend and he was up for it. Jacki called Jessica that night and said, "I met the PERFECT guy for you." She could not have been more right :) Jessica and Derrick met April 20, 2007 when Jacki, Brandon, Derrick, and Jessica hung out at Jacki's house after her prom. The rest is history...
About the Bride
Jessica is 22 and will graduate this December with a degree in Elementary Education. She cannot wait to finally be a teacher. She loves spending time with Derrick and their awesome families! Jessica is a very organized person and is having so much fun planning this wedding!
About the Groom
Derrick is 25 and is working on a degree towards Biomedical Engineering. He is going to school and working full-time yet still finds time to just relax and have fun with Jessica. He loves his family...especially his niece Taylor! He is always willing to help with wedding planning and is excited for the big day to get here!
The Proposal
On December 19th, 2009, Derrick asked my mom to get me out of the apartment for a few hours. We went shopping and had dinner. My mom dropped me off and I walked up to the apartment and opened the door. Derrick was standing there, and there were candles EVERYWHERE. It was so beautiful (think Monica and Chandler's proposal on "Friends"). He had our song playing (Brad Paisley's "She's Everything") and took my hands and led me to our Christmas tree. He said the sweetest things and got down on his knee. We were both choked up and I started to cry. Derrick said, "Jessica, will you marry me?" Of course, I said yes and we were so excited and happy! We are SO made for each other in so many ways...but also because the proposal was exactly how I had pictured it. Of course, I would have been happy with anything that he did, but in my head, I always pictured it just like in Friends. I NEVER told him that, though. Turns out, he pictured it the same exact way =]
