About Joe
My fiance is a tall, (not) dark, and handsome former Marine from Houston, Texas. He has lived in Austin for about 5 years. Joe is a jack of many trades - he has worked in both real estate and insurance. Right now, he is saving up to open his own catering company (yes, I found a man that can cook!) and considering going back to finish school with a degree in, well...that is still to be determined. He enjoys trying to play the guitar, taking our dog to the park, and being weird.
About Lauren
Joe and I at my dear friend, Carla's rehearsal dinner
Yours truly grew up in Indianapolis and went to Purdue University, getting her degree in Health Promotion. She moved to Austin on a whim in the fall of 2009, and has a few PT jobs that include working with both kids and adults in nutrition and exercise and traveling to perform wellness screenings. Her favorite things to do include playing on TK so that she doesn't bombard Joe with wedding babble, taking dogchildren on runs, watching movies with Joe, and seeing her friends from back home.
How we met
Oh, the old boss/employee story. Joe was my boss at my first job in Austin. Both of us were dating other people when we first met, and I never really gave it much thought because, well, he was my boss! However, Joe claims he started falling in love with me the first time he met me - how cute :) At the end of January 2009 he started texting me/actually talking to me more often, and by the time the guy I was dating and I called it off, I knew I wanted to give it a try with Joe - at the very least, I wanted to give him a chance so he'd leave me alone, right?! Well, it obviously ended up being more than just a few dates. After realizing what a big heart Joe had, and how much he cared for me (and I for him), we realized we were in it for the long haul.
How he put a ring on it
Staying with the whole "we met at work" theme, Joe proposed to me October 14th, 2009 at what is now our old job. We actually laughed through it - I knew it was coming, so the tears of joy and surprise were not there. I was still excited, though - of course! The ring got stuck at my knuckle, and Joe started to get nervous. I laughed as I pushed it onto my finger - no worries, it fit perfectly! So, it wasn't your typical "aww" proposal, but it was silly and simple and very JoeandLauren-ish. Thoughtful as he is, Joe proposed right before I went home for my parent's 25th anniversary, so I was able to show and tell my friends and family all about it that weekend.
Last, but not least....our furbabies
To the left is a picture of our 10 month old labrador retriever mix, Danni. Layla, our 3-year-old Australian Cattle Dog mix, is below. We got both of them at the local animal shelter and love them more than anything in the world, even though they sometimes get into things they shouldn't and, in turn, test our patience! They are best friends and follow Mom and Dad everywhere. Seriously - adopt your pets from the shelter - it is SO worth it!
