THEIR LOVE STORY
Lauren and Jacob met at a UGA Miracle subcommittee meeting in September 2016. As meetings progress ed during the fall semester, Lauren learned that Jacob was an accounting major and was going through recruitment. Lauren told him that two of her brothers worked at the Big Four accounting firms. Unknowing what the future held, she offered to give Jacob their phone numbers so he could ask them questions and get advice. Jacob ended up talking to both Dave and Greg in the fall, before Lauren and Jacob were even friends! They developed a friendship in the following months: they had heated tennis matches, Jacob built Lauren a shoe shelf, and they studied together on countless occasions. After staying up 24+ hours straight at Dance Marathon in February, they continued to progress their relationship. A week after Dance Marathon, Lauren & Jacob shared their first kiss at Sand (very UGA of us). Who kissed who first is still widely debated! Lauren and Jacob began dating on April 21, 2017 just before Lauren took off for her study abroad trip. Jacob visited NJ for the first time in July 2017.
During Lauren and Jacob's relationship, they have gone to dozens of Dawgs games, traveled to countless cities, and made incredible relationships with both new friends and future family. A few of their favorite memories are the GA/FL football games, Lake Tahoe with the Stones, Chattanooga Thanksgiving with the Noths, visiting Charleston together, living adjacent from each other in Atlanta for a summer, exploring Dallas when Lauren interned there, and traversing NYC whenever Jacob visits NJ. Lauren and Jacob have treasured growing together in faith, love, maturity, and commitment. They work to push each other to be the best version of themselves, enjoying challenging one another while also being constant cheerleaders. Lauren and Jacob are excited to move to Dallas, TX in March 2021 as Lauren pursues her career at Credera and Jacob transfers to the Ernst & Young office in Dallas.
THEIR PROPOSAL
Before the big proposal on December 19th, 2020, there was a last minute complication. After landing in Newark, NJ the night before on December 18th, Jacob found out that his original plan had been torn to shreds as he was not allowed on the premises of the location he wanted to propose at due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. Once Lauren’s brother and sister-in-law told him this devastating news, they had one thing to do: come up with a new plan.
While Jacob was thinking of different ideas , Lauren’s brother took Jacob to Five Guys in downtown Westfield, NJ to get some food. During their walk to Five Guys , Jacob randomly looked down the street and saw the giant Christmas tree in the center of downtown. He instantly told Darrell (Lauren’s brother) that the tree looked gorgeous, and if him and the rest of the Stone family could come up with a way to get Lauren to come to that tree, then he could propose there.
They went back to Darrell’s house and started coming up with other ideas, but Jacob knew in his head that the tree would be the best idea at such a late notice. The next morning, Darrell and La (Lauren’s sister-in-law) took Jacob to scope out the location and surrounding area of the tree. It was here that they came up with the exact plan and the logistics for the proposal. They determined that La would text Lauren asking her to take some pictures of their family for her new Barre 3 studio in Westfield (shoutout Barre 3 Westfield!), and Lauren would then take pictures with her nieces along with a solo picture for a Barre 3 testimonial (or so she thought). The plan was perfect and he was ready to go!
Despite being extremely nervous all day, Jacob was able to get dressed up in his suit and do some practice proposals in the mirror to help calm his nerves. Once the clock hit 3:15, he got into Darrell and La’s car and headed downtown to wait for the text that Lauren and her family had found parking by the tree. When I got the text, it was game on.
Jacob started his two-block walk to the Christmas tree to get into position. When he was across the street and around the corner from the tree, he had to wait and look through the branches of the tree to see where the Stone family was in the progression of their pictures. Her brother and sister-in-law told Jacob that they would take family pictures with everyone, then pictures with Lauren and her nieces, and then just solo shots of Lauren, where Jacob would have the opportunity to propose. From where he was located it was hard to see, but he could make out that the rest of the family had just finished taking pictures.
As soon as Jacob realized it was just Lauren and her nieces, he started his fast-paced walk to Lauren. Jacob had to cross the street at a crosswalk that put him almost directly behind Lauren, so he walked even faster to make sure that she didn’t turn around and see him. He noticed all of her family and their excited faces, fueling his nerves since he did not want to mess this up. The walk seemed twice as long as it had been that morning when they were scoping out the tree; time felt like it was moving in slow motion. When he was about 10 feet away from Lauren, her family called her nieces over to join them and told Lauren to get ready for a solo picture. Evie and Maddie (4-years-old and 2 years-old) knew about the proposal and Jacob being in New Jersey the entire time, yet they kept the secret from Lauren all day! When Lauren was officially standing alone Jacob walked right next to her, tapped her on the shoulder, and said “hey” as he got down on one knee as fast as he could so that he would be down when she turned around to see him. Jacob wasted no time and got straight to the point, posing the all-important question, “Lauren Stone, will you marry me?”
Lauren was in complete shell shock and had no idea what was going on, but luckily for Jacob she gathered herself long enough to say, “yes!” Jacob was so happy, excited, and still in such a nervous daze that he forgot to put the ring on her finger. After they embraced, Lauren managed to put the ring on as she was shaking from shock and excitement. They celebrated after with Lauren’s best friends and her family, along with many Face time calls to their loved ones. They felt so loved and celebrated that night. It was a day they will both remember for the rest of their lives.
Jacob and Lauren now reside in Dallas, but they love Charleston, SC so much that when I posed the question if they would be willing to make the journey they were so excited, just as Jeff and I were! We had the very best time exploring downtown Charleston and capturing the most beautiful moments and then we had a beautiful sunset session on the Isle of Palms at the beach!
Congratulations Jacob and Lauren! We cannot wait to celebrate with you April, 2022!
