‘Easy Street’ FTW! [Hope & Mark]

A few years ago, Mark and I went on a day trip to Salisbury, where we took pictures, ate good food and laughed together. One courtyard, in particular—known as “Easy Street”—was where we ate lunch and talked. It was special.

So I was excited last May, when Mark suggested we go back to Salisbury with our friends Junior and Roni to celebrate my birthday. After walking through the shops and markets, Mark told our friends to head to Easy Street while we put our bags in the car. On our walk back, I jokingly told Mark that it would have been the perfect day for a proposal. He apologized and laughed it off.

Then, when we got to the courtyard, Junior was smiling and holding a camera. I knew something was up. Mark and I walked down the red brick path lined with beautiful trees and fixtures, and I looked over to see a tan, cloth banner, hanging elegantly by the courtyard fountain. It said “Forever and Always” in calligraphy, and a bouquet of roses was below it.

Mark then got on one knee and took my breath away. I’d been looking forward to that moment since I was a high school senior at Hickory Grove Christian and Mark, a gutsy sophomore, asked me to be his girlfriend.

Mark later told me why he’d planned his proposal in that courtyard: It was there, years before, that he knew he wanted to marry me.—As told by Hope

Hope and Mark will be married June 3, 2016.

This story was originally published April 27, 2016 at 7:38 PM with the headline "‘Easy Street’ FTW! [Hope & Mark]."