An engagment to remember
With thousands of married students on campus, USU is home to engagement stories of all kinds. Four couples shared stories of how they began their journey. From midnight walks to theme parks, each couple has their own unique story.
“She was shocked and totally surprised,” said Parker Jeppesen, referring to when he proposed to his wife.
A night to remember
Cody Fullmer proposed to Sarah Phillips on the side of a mountain, looking out across the valley. They were inside a heart, cut out of the weeds, Fullmer said.
It was the same spot where they had their first date and where they became an official couple, he said.
Fullmer and his friends hauled a weed whacker up to carve the heart, he said. Around the heart they placed tiki torches with LED lights hanging around them. In the center of the heart was a table and chairs with a photo album on it. A ring was hidden underneath the table. Fullmer said he knew if he had the ring in his pocket, she would suspect something.
A generator for the lights and a microwave to warm up lasagna were hidden in the bushes. Fullmer’s friends were also in the bushes ready to take pictures, he said.
“It was pretty elaborate — hauling up a generator, cutting the grass with the weed whacker and setting everything up,” he said.
When the time came, Fullmer said he suggested to Phillips that they go back to their special spot on the mountain.
“As we got closer, I saw the table with the black tablecloth on it and thought it was a cow,” Phillips said.
Phillips said she caught a glimpse of one of Fullmer’s friends, so when she saw the table set up in the heart she thought it was someone else’s moment. She then said she saw a vase that Fullmer had given her on an earlier date with new flowers in it. She said she realized it was for her.
Fullmer got down on one knee, held out the ring and asked her to marry him. “She said yes, cried and we kissed,” Fullmer said.
Caught on camera
Tyrell Hebdon and his family were taking family pictures on a Saturday afternoon. He and Lydia Scott had been dating for about five months — two of those exclusively — and were talking about getting married, Hebdon said.
Hebdon’s mom said the family pictures should include his girlfriend, since she was probably going to be a part of the family, he said.
“She told me that I should propose before we got the pictures done,” Tyrell said. “I really wanted it to be a surprise, and I knew she would be expecting it, so I decided to wait until the last second so she wouldn’t see it coming.”
Tyrell had not formally proposed, but said he and Scott had attended a bridal fair that morning looked at rings. Scott didn’t realize Hebdon had already purchased one.
“I had my family and the photographer all in on it, too,” he said. “They started taking pictures of my siblings and their families, and when it was time for us and everyone to be in the picture, I asked her if she felt weird, and she said yes.”
He said the photographer was told beforehand to ask why. A family member told him that she was just a girlfriend. The photographer then said they should get some pictures without her in case it didn’t work out, he said.
“This was kind of mean, I know, but it helped her to not expect anything,” Tyrell said.
As Lydia walked away from the pictures, Tyrell grabbed her hand to stay and told her she was part of the family, too.
“Actually, I am not,” she said.
“Well, then let’s make it official,” he said, as he knelt down.
He said she didn’t think he was being serious until she saw the ring that he pulled out.
She said yes, and the photographer was able to capture it all on camera, he said,
Hide-and-seek
Colin Loose and Aubrey Hoggard dated for a while before Loose had to move from Logan to Roy, Hoggard said.
With Hoggard staying in Logan, the couple only got to see each other on weekends, she said. One Saturday, Aubrey got off work late and was speeding down to Roy, near Ogden, to meet Colin for dinner.
Loose packed a picnic basket to eat at Heritage Park in Syracuse, Utah.
“We spread out our blanket in front of the waterfall and had our cute little picnic,” Hoggard said.
After dinner, Colin suggested they go for a walk. The path was lined with lamp posts, she said.
“I was afraid that she wouldn’t realize what was going on if she couldn’t see the ring,” Loose said.
The pair came to a playground, and Loose’s original idea was to have the ring out and be down on one knee before she hit the bottom of the slide, but she slid too fast, so he had to find another way, he said.
As they resumed the walk down the path, Loose found a hillside, which was perfect to play hide-and-seek, he said, because of the rocks and trees all over it.
Aubrey agreed to play and started counting to 15. He said she heard him walk away but also heard him walk back.
“I was at 10, thinking ‘Seriously?’ Then 13, thinking ‘My stupid boyfriend doesn’t even know how to play hide-and-seek,'” she said. After 15 seconds, she said she opened her eyes, and Loose was down on one knee.
Hoggard started laughing, stopping only long enough for him to ask the question, she said.
“I couldn’t stop smiling or laughing. It felt like a dream, and I couldn’t get it to set in. No matter how hard I tried,” she said.
Disneyland magic
Parker Jeppesen has been to Disneyland 54 times in 22 years, and his wife Tiauna loves Disneyland as well, he said.
“I just love being there. I love all the attractions. It’s a sensory experience. Good music and being there with the people you love is what makes it so special,” Parker said. “You can check your worries at the door.”
Parker’s family went once every year when he was a child, he said. Then Parker’s brother, Carson Jeppeson, was born with autism. Carson loved going to Disneyland, so the family started going two or three times a year, he said.
“Being at Disneyland allows Carson to be himself in a carefree place free of judgment,” Parker said.
August 2011, Tiauna was on vacation there with her family, while Parker was allegedly at Yellowstone National Park with his, he said.
Parker went as far as sending her fake Google images of a moose, to ensure that she didn’t suspect anything. He was actually at Disneyland the same time that Tiauna was, he said.
He sent her a small gift for every day she was there. On the last day, he gave her two pennies to drop into the wishing well. When she got there, she found Parker, kneeling with a ring, he said.
Disneyland was also the chosen spot for their honeymoon.
“It has developed into a special place,” Parker said.
– victoria.hepworth@aggiemail.usu.edu