December 10, 2016

The couple met in 2005 at a cookout/pool party for the 4th of July. They exchanged numbers and stayed on the phone together constantly over the next two weeks. On a weekend trip three weeks later to Garden City, Christen invited Cody to come eat dinner with her and her family. They officially started dating and the rest is history. The couple dated for 10 years without a single breakup and Cody finally decided to pop the question on their anniversary. They spent the day at home by the pool since Christen had a sinus infection and wasn’t feeling great. Starting at 2 p.m., Cody began giving her little crazy gifts, which she was mad about because they had agreed not to exchange presents this year. Each hour was something different—fishing lures, candy, a floating pool light. He apologized, saying he couldn’t afford a ring right now. The gifts ended with a Nerf gun, which Cody told her to shoot him with for all the presents throughout the day. When she turned around he was down on one knee with the ring. The ceremony took place at Union Baptist Church in Pamplico. Before the ceremony, the couple stood in a doorway with the wall between them so they could hold hands and calm their nerves without any bad luck. Christen and Cody live in Pamplico.

PHOTOGRAPH BY YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHY