Austin and Anthony first met while attending University at Texas A&M. Before meeting in person, the two had spent a couple of days chatting over the phone. “I knew Anthony was outgoing and easy to talk to. He loves his friends and family and was very involved with things at Texas A&M. From the beginning I admired his drive and excitement for life. We both felt like we had known each other for years in just a matter of weeks, and truly fell into love without even noticing.”

For their first date, Austin picked up Anthony and took him to a Sonic Drive-In. Anthony had a Strawberry Limeade Slush and Austin had an Ocean Water. “We sat in Austin’s car and talked for a couple of hours. After Austin ordered the second round of tater tots, I knew it was love at first bite. We actually consider this date our anniversary since we have been dating ever since then, and no one officially asked the other. We’ve had many more tater tots since then.

At first, I thought Austin was a little quiet but he opened up pretty quickly and we hit it off. We spent several hours talking and I didn’t want the night to come to an end because I knew it would mean going our separate ways. When we first starting dating, I couldn’t believe how fast things between us were moving but it all felt very right.”

“We have always heard, “when you know, you just know.” And this is definitely true for the two of us. After a few days of knowing each other, 4 to be exact, Anthony had a drink or two and let the words “I love you,” slip out. Of course, these words can either really freak you out, or let you know that you feel the exact same way. Being that drinks were involved, we decided to wait and see if the feelings were still there in the morning. They were.

Knowing that you have found “the one” is such an incredible, and sometimes confusing feeling, and it comes with loving and growing together through the pains of life. Our lives have had plenty of pains, but we are lucky enough to be each other’s “ones” to get through it all.

We both grew up in very small, conservative Texas towns, and both come from pretty religious families. These are the types of towns that when something happens, the neighbors call to talk about it quicker than TMZ could ever tweet. Being from small communities, we both were very closeted when we were younger but knew that we were destined for something larger than our hometowns could offer. When we first met, we were both at a point in our lives when we were ready for that something greater - even if it meant having to break out of our comfort zones. We immediately felt comfortable with each other and wanted to be a part of each other’s lives in a big way, but didn’t know what our families or friends would think. We decided to live our truths without shame, and both knew that God would handle the rest. We luckily have had a great amount of support from both our family and friends and can’t help but know that God made us for each other. Our faith is very important to us—in fact, Anthony designed Austin’s engagement ring himself and included three diamonds on it, one to signify Anthony, another that signifies Austin, and the third to represent God being at the center of our lives and our future together. We treat our relationship as a partnership and approach everything with equality and kindness in mind. Our truth is ours to share, and we’ve chosen to share it with one another, and feel blessed to do so.

To celebrate their 6 year anniversary, Austin and Anthony made plans to go to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico together. “I flew out a friend and one of my favorite photographers (IG: @sarah.stip) to meet us in Cabo. I had planned a surprise for our anniversary night and rented a private sailboat for the two of us. Our photographer hid under the cabin of the boat for about 45 minutes waiting for the big moment. At sunset, as we approached Lover’s Arch I got down on one knee and Austin said yes!”

“I was totally shocked. I had spent the last weeks and days trying to conceal my plans and nerves so much that when he dropped to his knee, I almost didn’t think it was real! After we arrived at the marina, Anthony told me that we would be going on a sailboat charter for sunset. I was soaking up every relaxing second of the perfect evening. When he appeared next to me and took my hand, my heart almost jumped out of my chest. I was confused, overjoyed, excited, and relieved that he wasn’t going to tell me no!”

“Two days after I proposed, Austin had his own surprise planned. We woke up at 5:30 AM for what he called, “a sunrise surprise.” As we drove to our destination, he announced what we were doing: “We’re going to watch the sunrise on a secluded beach. Since we just got engaged and I know how much you love photos—I booked a photographer for our first engagement photo shoot (IG: @celestus_studio).” I was thrilled! We arrived and he had the cutest picnic table set up with some breakfast pastries, coffee, and orange juice. We started the shoot and Austin seemed calm and collected and played along with the photographer and her ideas. I had no idea, and about 15 minutes into the photo session, and just as the sun peaked out, he got down on one knee on this secluded beach and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. It was the easiest yes I ever had to say!

We both left Texas for our vacation clueless that the other was going to propose and both came back with rings on our fingers. I think it’s safe to say this will be one of the most memorable vacations ever.

We haven’t officially started wedding planning yet. With so much uncertainty right now with the pandemic, we want to enjoy being engaged for a little while and take a deep dive into planning in 2021.” Austin and Anthony are even discussing potentially having a destination wedding in 2022!

“We have talked about it for years now, and imagine having a unique destination wedding. We want it to be intimate, elegant, authentic to who we are, and just extra enough.”

When planning the perfect proposal, details can get difficult. Austin and Anthony’s advice is to have fun with it. “Plan ahead and breathe when things don’t go exactly how you thought. Anthony had to move his original proposal date up one day, and it stressed him out, but he went with the flow and allowed it to happen...and it all worked out. Austin had to push back his proposal 3 days, and get special permission from the Mexican government to use the beach because of a hurricane that happened days before the trip, and the shore was needing to be cleaned up.

At the end of the day, you’ll have your fiancé by your side and that’s all that matters. It’s all part of the memories and is just confirmation that you will do anything to spend the rest of your life with the one you love. Do it for them, do it for yourself, and block out any noise you need to.”

Follow Anthony & Austin’s adventures on Instagram!

Photography (Sailboat Proposal) — Sarah Stipanovich (Instagram)
Photography (Beach Proposal) — Celestus Studio (Instagram)