25 Apr Melanie & Taylor | Engagement

Today we are so excited to share with you the proposal photos and interview of one of our sweet couples tying the knot this May. Taylor’s proposal to Melanie on a mountain top in Steamboat Springs, Colorado on a family trip is just the cutest. Hope you enjoy!

How/where did you meet and what did you do on your first date? Give us all the details…

He said: Spring of my Junior year at Auburn. We had a lot of similar friends and we were attending the same church. I first met Melanie through those friends, at a local coffee shop. After that, we began hanging out inside the same circle of friends for a few months. We grew closer and closer and got to know each other better in those few months and on September 28, 2014 I told her I was interested in dating her. We prayed about it for a week and decided to put it off for the time being and keep pursuing God. Then in January of 2015, we prayed about it again for 21 days and I was given a vision from God that told me the right decision was to pursue the relationship. We talked again on January 25, 2015 and started dating that day. Our first “official” date (taking her to a nice dinner, etc.) wasn’t until April. We went to a local Italian place called Ma Fia’s in Opelika. I didn’t tell her where we were going, only how to dress. Afterwards, I told her that I had something else planned. So we went back and changed clothes and I revealed my surprise. We were going to make a floating lantern! After 2 long hours of building our floating lantern, we walked down the street to the park and lit it. It took a long time to heat up and start floating, but our poor construction got the best of it and it began to sink almost immediately. Melanie, not wanting it to hit the ground, ran over and tried to bump it up into the air. This only caused it to flip and then crash into the ground and burst into flames. We both got a good laugh out of that one.

She said:  We met at a coffee shop in Auburn while hanging out with mutual friends from church. I remember wondering why he looked like he owned the campus- he just seemed confident. I found out later that it’s an Air Force pilot thing.  While our first “official” date was a surprise dinner at an amazing restaurant and building our own paper lantern (it almost worked, too!!), I like to talk about when it all began: in Kiesel Park in Auburn. We officially decided to call our relationship “dating” while we were sitting in a giant tree in the park, after hours of walking through the park and talking. Immediately after that?… to Sonic for a peanut butter banana fudge milkshake, of course.

Describe your dream date

He said: We’ve been on some fantastic dates already. As long as there is food, music, and dancing it’s a dream date.

She said: I love it when Taylor takes me on surprise dates- where he plans something and won’t tell me what it is until we get there. We love sweet adventures, swing dancing, and being outside. Any date that involves those things is my dream date.

Do you have a favorite movie or song?

He said: I would say our favorite movie is “Furious 7”.

She said: We watch a lot of action movies. I’m still holding out on watching Pride & Prejudice together one day… But secretly, I think I like the Jason Bourne and superhero movies as much he does! 

What guilty pleasure do you share?

He said: Either Sonic milkshakes or McDonald’s French fries.

She said: Peanut butter banana fudge milkshakes from Sonic. Also the occasional late-night run to McDonald’s- we go all out. 

Tell us all about the proposal… anything go not as planned or was it completely perfect?

He said: I decided I was going to propose in Steamboat Springs, CO while on vacation with Melanie’s family. I told them about it and what I was planning. I was preparing for the trip weeks in advance with the help of a lot of friends and more specifically Melissa. I tasked Melissa with running around and getting pictures of all of Melanie’s friends with the engagement ring. I also asked a lot of her friends to give me a letter for Melanie since they could not be in Colorado with us. I made two signs with bible verses on them that helped explain my reasoning for picking the engagement ring. I also bought a leather bible and engraved “Melanie Brown” on the front of it. I brought all these things with me to Colorado and began looking for a way to put them all together. The family and I finally decided on a plan. The Siddles have been going to Steamboat Springs for almost 10 years but never got family photos on top of the mountain. We decided we would use this as a guise for the proposal. We all dressed up and rode the gondola to the top of the mountain where they always have photographers ready. (At this point my arm is in a sling because I tore my shoulder snowboarding). Mr. Siddle and Melissa went up before Mrs. Siddle, Melanie, and I and talked to the photographer and clued her in on what was about to happen. They took some family photos and then I got in a few and then Melanie and I got a few with just the two of us. I looked at her and asked, “We should do something creative.. what do you want to do? “I don’t know… what do you want to do?” she responded.  

Then I said… “what if I did this?” I then got down on one knee and pulled the box out of my coat pocket and presented it to her. “Will you marry me?”

“YES! Of course!” she said after a moment and getting over the shock of it all. My left arm was in the sling so I told her, “You’re going to have to open it and put it on.” It was pretty humorous.

But what about all the stuff I had brought with me? Mr. Siddle and Melissa “went skiing” because it was their last day on the mountain, and Melanie, Mrs. Siddle, and I rode the gondola back down the mountain. Mr. Siddle and Melissa were actually racing us down the mountain to set up Phase 2 of the proposal. They collected all the stuff I had brought and put about 30 photos of Melanie’s friends on the Christmas tree in the lobby of the hotel and the signs, Bible, and letters underneath. Melanie, Mrs. Siddle and I entered the lobby, and I led Melanie over to the Christmas tree. She was so proud of herself for not crying at the proposal, but once she realized what she was seeing on the Christmas tree, the tears began flowing down. It was really cool for her to see her friends, to read their letters, and to take it all in. And that is how I proposed to Melanie Siddle.

She said: From my perspective… completely perfect. I’ve never had such a perfect day. My favorite place (Steamboat Springs), incredible weather, stunning ring, immaculate execution. Taylor did REAL good!  

What do the two of you like to do together when you aren’t working?

He said: We like to frequent coffee shops, visit zoos, serve at the church, watch movies, go exploring, and play at the lake.

She said: We are movie connoisseurs. Also, you can usually find us at the closest Chipotle. Or running around outside somewhere. 

Any fur babies? If so what are their names?

He said: Not at the moment but we would like to get a German Shepherd, Australian Shepherd, or something similar in the future.

She said: Not yet… but we will one day have a perfect German Shepherd. Probably named Apache. (Ask Taylor about that one.) And I also secretly want a sloth. But we’ll see how that one goes… 

Anything else fun you want to share about your story?

He said: Our first kiss was at the proposal. Neither of us had kissed someone before, so it was pretty special.

She said: Taylor and I scored about the highest possible rating on the compatibility test for our premarital counseling assessment. So we’re extremely compatible, and this is because we’re complete opposites. While I am passionate and more emotional/motivational, Taylor is steady and consistent. We joke that if we were a painting, he would be a fencepost (because of the steadiness) and I would be the sunset (passion, etc.).

Also, I have to brag more on Taylor’s proposal skills. Since he proposed in Steamboat, my friends obviously couldn’t be present for it. But because I had told him much earlier that having friends present was important to me for the proposal, he spent the preceding month getting pictures of all my friends holding my engagement ring, as well as gathering letters they had written to me, and he hung all of these on a huge Christmas tree in the hotel lobby for me to see after we returned from the proposal. This was the point on the proposal day that I actually started crying (as in, ugly crying)- it meant SO MUCH to me to see my dear friends’ faces in those pictures. With the letters combined with the pictures, I felt like my people were actually there. Taylor could not have done a better job. I wouldn’t change anything about that day! VERY well done, babe  

How did you know the other was the one? Tell me more about why he/she has your heart. It could be something that happened to solidify that in your mind and heart at some point or just how he/she makes you feel all the time.

He said: I knew Melanie was the one because of the vision I had from God and the support and all the things that just came together to make this relationship happen. She has my heart by the way she not only loves me but loves Jesus. Her faith and discipline in pursuing Jesus are the first things that I noticed about her and that really attracted me to her.  She has a wonderful sense of humor and loves to serve me and is always looking to improve herself. She loves me in a way that I never expected any human could and that makes me love her all the more. I am so thankful for her and the way she supports me and urges me to do great things. I believe God put us together and praise him for it and give him all the glory!

She said: People ask me when I knew Taylor was “the one.” And I say January 25, 2015- when we were in the big tree in Kiesel and decided to start dating. The peace God gave me that day was too overwhelming not to know that this was the beginning of a life-long relationship. Since that point, I have never doubted whether Taylor would be my husband. God knew what He was doing, and I give Him ALL the glory for our relationship!