Chris knew within the first month of dating Claire that she was the girl he was going to marry. The month before, Chris sent Clair a message on Facebook asking if she was the girl he met in a coffee shop earlier that day (there was no girl in a coffee shop, that was just a pickup line). Claire told us that she didn’t take him seriously at all! She simply replied, “Do you love Jesus?” Much to her surprise, he said yes. They got into a long conversation (thank you Facebook messenger), which eventually led to them having dinner together.

During that first month, Chris was asked if he wanted to live in a cabin a family friend owned in a nearby town. The owner offered their place, almost rent-free to Chris and his roommate if they cleaned up the place and maintained the cabin.  Chris and his friend went out to look at the cabin and quickly discovered that there was no way we could live there. The place had not been lived in for decades. The yard was a jungle, there was a toilet on the front porch, bugs all throughout the house and vines actually growing into the windows! Even though the cabin was a disaster, Chris decided that since he would be making a big purchase soon (an engagement ring), he decided to say yes!  Plus, he decided it could be a great adventure! He moved into the cabin and began the work of clearing and cleaning up the property.

When he mustered the courage to ask Claire’s parents for permission (apparently he waited until after dessert was served! Smart guy!), Claire’s stepmom told him that Claire has always desired to wear the ring her mother and grandmother had worn. Chris couldn’t believe it! He had saved all this money on rent to purchase a ring for Claire and here he was being able to hand her a beautiful family heirloom ring. He quickly decided to use the money he had been saving for a ring to take Claire on a vacation to Antigua! He planned a candlelight dinner on the beach complete with a photographer to capture the moment! He started dinner by giving Claire a handwritten love letter. As Claire finished reading the letter, Chris got down on one knee and proposed!

Chris swears that Claire is the only girl that he has randomly messaged on Facebook using that pickup line.