The beginnings

Each summer at the University of Georgia, 12 students are selected as "Orientation Leaders" to lead the 5,000 incoming freshmen through university orientation. In the summer of 2009, Nicole and Barrett were two of those "OLs." 

As Nicole likes to tell it, she wasn't Barrett's biggest fan when they first met in November 2008... And yet by the end of spring 2009, he had won her over and they secretly started dating. (Secretly dating to avoid any flack from the fellow Orientation Leaders... after all, what would the team think if they found out?!) As time went on, Barrett & Nicole grew closer through the shared summer experience and eventually told everyone about the relationship. By the end of the summer, they planned to go on a semester-long study abroad program together.

While studying at Oxford University, Nicole and Barrett truly started to build a life together. They studied and attended class together, learned to cook (well... more him than her), and traveled across Europe. The experiences challenged them and developed them both personally and as a couple.

The beginnings, in other words, were a whirlwind of shared experiences that helped them grow up together.

THE ENGAGEMENT

Like any couple who's been together for 6+ years, Nicole and Barrett fielded their fair share of the classic question: "So when are you two going to get engaged and married?"

They always gracefully shrugged the question off, but behind closed doors, they began to plot their plan to take on the world together. In Nicole's grand plan, she thought they would get engaged in the fall of 2015. Meanwhile, Barrett was quietly making his own plan to take her by surprise.

On February 6th, 2015, Barrett and Nicole (and Hank, their black lab) took a trip to the Brooks' family mountain house outside of Bryson City, North Carolina. The weather was beautiful on the drive up and Barrett commented that it would be a perfect night for stargazing. On arrival, Barrett served up a cheese plate while cooking a homemade surf-and-turf meal (scallops and steak) with brussels and potatoes (Nic's favorite!).

After dinner, Barrett set out some cushions and blankets on the deck. He invited Nicole and Hank to join him to look for shooting stars. With Nicole's favorite Justin Timberlake album (of course) playing in the background, he gave her a card "to remind her how much he loves her." As she read the last words on the card -- "Marry me?" -- Barrett held up an engagement ring and asked Nicole to marry him.

It took a while to get past her disbelief, but finally Nicole said yes and the two drove up the mountain to get enough cell service to call family and friends. They spent a quiet weekend together hiking and relaxing while celebrating the start of a new adventure together.