...And He Proposed!

After the "year-ish" of dating, the next step became a topic of discussion, and the "M"-word loomed large. Certainly, there was a lot to figure out with each of us being of a different faith, but somehow we got there. ("Somehow" involved a lot of listening and counseling from parents, friends, siblings, church leaders, and anyone else who would listen. We owe you!)

Since we met on a flight from Tucson and spent hours getting to know each other in the airport, Jason thought it was the perfect place to pop the question. We went to the Tucson airport to take some "pre-engagement" pictures with photographer Spencer Boerup. Amanda wasn't sure it made a lot of sense to take pictures before she had a ring, or even a proposal, but Jason was persistent. After taking some fun shots throughout the airport, Spencer and Jason convinced Amanda to change clothes for some more pictures. When she came back after changing, they were gone. She headed down the escalator looking for them and saw Jason at the bottom holding a dozen roses and a sign that said "Mrs. Stremel?" When she made it to the bottom, he got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. Since she had cried all down the escalator, the verbal answer wasn't that understandable, but there was some vigorous nodding. The Southwest Airlines staff and TSA workers at the airport clapped and cheered at what cannot possibly be a common occurence at the airport. Then they offered to get us through security to take pictures in the terminal, on the Tarmac, and even on a plane. It was amazing, and Spencer got awesome shots of the whole thing! Jason followed it all up with a surprise engagement party dinner with Amanda's family and a group of friends. It was such an incredible day!