Sassafrass Winery Proposal . Emma + Josh

Today’s blog has a guest. Emma and Josh. These two are so sweet and genuine. I was beyond excited to be here and document such an amazing moment for them. That being said both have a little more to say then me about this day and the story leading up to it so I wanted to step aside and let them tell that story! First we have Emma, and then second we have Josh. Please take the time to enjoy these sweet perspectives, and the sweet heart behind this day!

Emma :

“The fact that I am typing this out, leaves me in awe. I feel as though I have so much to say and yet, all at once, I am speechless. This is so dreamy and yet, it is so real. The excitement only richens, and I am grateful to the core. These pictures capture a beautiful glimpse of God’s kindness. These pictures reveal a sparkle of the radiance that is God’s grace. Looking through them, I cannot help but be reminded and calmed by God’s faithfulness. He is so good. I love Him and how He fills everything with Himself, including this proposal.

Josh and I began dating in November of 2018 and getting to date this young man has deepened my love for the Lord. It has inspired me to rest in the truth of Who God is and who I am in Him. It has taught me a new depth of fearless vulnerability. It has challenged me to focus on what really matters. It has revealed tougher and more tender parts of my heart that I did not even know about yet and getting to see God shape me to look more like Himself has been such a priceless journey. It has been fun because as Josh has pursued me in romance, I have gotten to see a new angle of God’s heart-an angle of his romantic pursuit of us. It has opened my eyes to see the sufficiency of God’s grace that is made perfect in my weaknesses. It has been a joy and I have laughed so hard that I cried. So sweet. Almost a year and a half of such beauty. Almost a year and a half of days that sometimes were not easy, but always worth it.

I have had people ask me when I knew that Josh was the man I was going to marry. I have thought through this question and have realized that it was not one particular moment that took place, but rather it was moment by moment that God confirmed in my heart that Josh was who God was gifting to me. It was in the moments that Josh would stop whatever he was doing to pray with me. It was in the moments that we laughed so hard together that my belly hurt. It was in the moments that I shared deeper parts of my heart with Josh and instead of responding in judgement and rejection, he responded in love and grace and truth. It was in the moments that I saw him excite in loving people and investing into the lives of others. It was in the moments that I was experiencing something beautiful and I found myself wanting him to be there so that we could experience it together. It was moments that he would delight in going out of his way to care for me. I could go on and on, but it was moment by moment that God assured my heart that he was my man.

Now, these pictures capture moments that I will cherish forever. This is a unique season that the whole world is currently in, with the Corona Virus. With this, Josh and I came back to our homes from college to finish our semester online. We live only 3 minutes down the road from one another, so thankfully leaving college did not mean that we had to say “good-bye”. 

The week leading up to the day that Josh proposed, my dad asked me to go on a date with him. My dad is stellar. He has always been so intentional to reflect the heart of my Heavenly Father to me. When I was little, my dad would paint my fingernails and then go back to clean up the mess on my fingers with Q-Tips! Haha! He is just the best. So, when he asked me to go on a date, I was not caught off guard because this is who he is. I had no idea what plans he had for our date because everything was closed, but I trusted him and was so excited to spend time with him. Then, one night that week my momma said that we should paint our nails together. This is also something I didn’t think much of because we have painted our nails together since I was 5 years old. She ordered me a dress and it was white and so pretty, but she is such a giver and so I simply saw it as a gift and was so excited to have a dress for the summer time. My hair dresser then texted me (because she is my friend, haha, she rocks) and she explained to me that she was doing house calls to help women feel good and pampered during this tough time, and then asked if I wanted her to come to my house and do my hair for me. I thought that this was a great opportunity to support a local business and I love her and I love getting my hair done, so I said “absolutely”!! So much kindness and fun everywhere!

The day for my dad and I to go on a date came, and as I began to try and connect dots, the thought crossed my mind that this would be a great day for a proposal - I mean I had a new dress, my hair was done, my nails were painted…it made sense, but I talked myself out of it. So, when my dad and I were driving in his truck, I truly had no idea what was coming. We pulled up to these beautiful chapel ruins, but before we entered, my dad stopped me and said that he had something to share before we kept going. He proceeded to read a 2-page letter that he had written. In this letter, he shared how much he loved me, how proud he is of me, and the joy of walking with me as my father. He spoke affirmation over me and reminded me of when I made a list of qualities to pray over and not settle on for my future husband when I was sixteen years old. He said that a young man has entered the picture who has his blessing, and not only does he meet the qualities of this list, but he is the list. Tears began to build in his eyes as he expressed that it is now time for me to continue into a new season with this young man by my side. I turned around and Josh was waiting in the chapel doorways for me. Dad hugged me and kissed me and hugged me and kissed me again, and it was one of the most cherished and precious moments of my entire life that I adore.

This has even more significance than what I can explain because when I was thirteen years old, my dad took me on my first date ever. We dressed up to the nines and he had a limo and restaurant reservations, and he shared with me that this was my standard. He challenged me to rest in the heart of God by not settling on such a standard. So, the fact that Josh was so caring to honor my relationship with my dad by reenacting my first date into our proposal meant the world to me and the relationship I have with my dad.

I walked to Josh, overwhelmed by joy and awe and gratitude as I took it all in. He shared the list of qualities in a future bride he made when he was sixteen, and confidently made it known that he wanted me. He prayed over us as we surrendered our relationship to the Lord and he then got down on one knee to invite me to love God and love people alongside him for the rest of our lives. I was so giddy, friends, I had to dance and spin to soak it all up and celebrate such a moment. WOW. After saying “yes!” he put the ring on my finger and gave me a letter that spoke of the meaning behind the ring. The ring is an original, made with diamonds from three generations of marriage in my family, equaling over 130 years of God’s faithfulness. 

I think one of my favorite parts of this day is that it was Good Friday, which is a mark of remembrance for when Christ displayed His perfect love for the whole world by taking on our sins and dying on a cross. Josh got down on one knee to express his love for me on the day that reminds us of the day that Christ was put on a cross to express His love for us. It’s like God wanted to give us a picture to show just a glimpse of how He is passionately in love with us and that He chooses us because we matter to Him.

Everything about this day reflects God’s heart for us. Just as these pictures give a glimpse of the joy and commitment and gratitude we have in the Lord and for one another, so is it that this day reflects just a glimpse of the heart of God. I love Him so much. I adore Josh McDaniel, but even more so, I adore the heart of God that exudes through Josh McDaniel. The Lord does not settle on us, so we should never settle on ourselves. I have found the one my soul loves.

John 3:16; Ephesians 1; Song of Songs 3:4; Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 12:9”

Josh:

“ How do you plan one of the sweetest and most special times of your life, an engagement? This was the thought that rested on my mind while Emma and I were dating. I prayed constantly, asking God to show me special ways on how to love Emma and how to make this sweet moment so special. From the very beginning before we even started dating, 

I asked her to get coffee just to get to know her as friends because we had just found out that we were going to the same college. As I asked her about her family she went on and on about how she loves them. She started telling me stories, and one of the stories stood out in particular. The story was about her dad taking her on her first date. He told her to get all dress up and he picked her up in a limo to take her to a nice restaurant - it was the whole 9 yards. Her dad’s goal was to show her not to settle and encouraged her to not be with a guy that doesn’t treat her as honoring and loving. 

After a while of dating, I began to be confident that this was the woman that I wanted to marry. I wanted to replicate the date that she had with her dad. So, as planning the proposal began, I thought that her dad would picking her up and dress all fancy. Instead of going on a date though, he would be handing her off to me as a symbol of approval and showing that she’s not settling.

I went out and started shopping for rings. Who knew that there’s so many different types of cuts, clarities, and colors that rings come in? Knowing that Emma has a very sentimental heart, I went to her mother and asked if she had any family diamonds or jewelry so that I could customize a ring. Her mother excitedly gave me a few diamonds to put into the ring including Emma’s mom’s engagement ring, her grandma’s engagement ring, and her great grandma’s 50th anniversary pendant. Over 130 years of marriage. Soon after, in the month of August, I customized the ring after looking at countless photos from her Pinterest.  

Months progressed as Emma and I continued to talk about engagement. We finally settled on a time that we wanted to get engaged. This caused me to wait another five months with the ring in my pocket. 

In the month of December, I knew it was almost time to ask her dad the terrifying and exciting question – “can I marry Emma?” The best way I knew how to prepare for this conversation was with prayer. During the conversation it was so encouraging to hear her dad pour praise and blessings over mine and Emma’s relationship. It was an absolutely beautiful conversation that I will never forget, and I also had a great opportunity to show him the ring that was custom built for Emma. One of the diamonds in the ring belonged to Jason‘s mother, who had passed away. 

The spring finally rolled around with excitement in so much planning. While in conversation with friends and family, we secretly decided to do the proposal in Virginia. I was going to fly our families up so we could have a huge celebration. We were going to do a full day event of shopping and eating, and then ending the day with her dad driving her to the proposal spot. Once we were a month out, we got news that the coronavirus was a lot bigger than we originally thought. So, we had to pack up all of our things and go back home to Arkansas. At first, I was disappointed that this extravagant plan was not going to work. However, I knew and trusted that God was going to provide a sweet way to make Emma feel so special and loved in this time. 

Plan A turned into Plan B, and Plan B turned into plan C. We were struggling to figure out how we were going to make this work in Arkansas with all the COVID-19 shutdowns. Our first plan was just to replicate in Arkansas what we were going to do in Virginia, but that quickly ended when all of the stores closed. The next plan was to fly all our friends into Arkansas, but then the borders shut down. We were quickly running out of ideas, but after many days of brainstorming, we finally landed on an idea. Though it wasn’t as extravagant or as detailed as the other plans, I knew it was going to be sweet and I knew it was going to make Emma feel like the most amazing woman in the world!! We quickly reserved this old worn-down chapel and her dad made plans to take her on a special date. Earlier in the week, Emma and her mom would have a girl’s night and paint nails. We also tricked Emma into believing that her hairstylist was doing in house calls so that we could get her hair done. We knew if she was going on a date with her dad, we needed to get a dress, so we quickly ordered a new dress online. Everything was coming together. 

Emma got in the car with her dad to go on their date. Unknowingly, she was driving to the spot where I was going to propose. As she arrived, she walked through a beautiful vineyard. Her dad stopped her just before they reached the chapel so he could read her a sweet letter he had written. When he finished the letter, she turned around and saw me standing at the door of the worn-down chapel. She walked to me so surprised. I walked her down the aisle of the chapel and stopped at a table full of flowers. 

Standing at the end of the aisle, I started to read to her a list that I wrote whenever I was 16. This list consisted of characteristics that I wanted in a wife. I had converted the list to be on a white canvas and at the top of the list, it said, “Emma you are a woman who is…” so that she would know that she is the one who meets this list. After this I prayed and thanked God for how He has led us through this dating season and protected and provided for us. I also prayed that He will continue to lead us and guide our steps in the seasons ahead. I told her that I couldn’t imagine my life without her, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her! Then I got down on one knee with excitement and anticipation and asked her the question “Emma Mae will you marry me?”!