From In Love To More In Love: An Engagement Story

You may remember a story titled “From Indiana to Oxford: A Love Story.” In February of 2015, Stephanie Bultman had just moved to Oxford to be with her boyfriend, Woody Sorenson.

Now, Bultman and Sorenson are even more in love.
Bultman’s birthday is in November; so, Sorenson arranged for his mother to invite Bultman to her house for a “girls weekend.”
“I went to Chattanooga to see her and we went to get our nails done, went shopping, and had a great time. Before I left Sunday morning, she said she wanted to take me somewhere,” Bultman said. “I assumed we were going to brunch. We got to talking and after an hour on the road, I said, ‘Where in the world are we going?'”
Bultman was then told she had been kidnapped for her birthday and wouldn’t be able to return to work for the next two days. 
With no idea where they were headed, Bultman spent 6.5 hours riding in the car.
“We finally arrived at my favorite place in the world, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina,” Bultman said. “We checked into the Hilton Head Marriott Resort & Spa and, little did I know, Woody and his stepfather were all settled into their own room a few floors down.”
The next morning, Bultman and soon-to-be mother-in-law decided to go see the lighthouse in Harbor Town. The two had very special memories at the lighthouse and wanted to experience it together.
“She was insistent that we get that right when it opened at 10 a.m.,” Bultman said. “I had no other plans; so, I happily obliged.”
Once at the top of the lighthouse, the attendant told them the best view was around to the left.
“I stepped out onto the balcony and turned the corner to see my handsome boyfriend in a suit with a beautiful bouquet of flowers,” Bultman said. “At this point, I still thought I was on a birthday trip, so I thought he had just surprised me for that.”
But as he held her in his arms, he started whispering in her ear how much he loved her.
“It was then that I realized that was it. He was going to propose,” Bultman said. “He looked me in the eye and said, ‘You are the only girl that I have ever loved, and I want you to be the only girl I will love for the rest of my life. I want to grow old with you.’”
He got down on one knee and asked her to spend the rest of her life with him.
“As we kissed and hugged and he lifted me into the air, the ring fell out of the box,” Bultman said. “An elderly man with a long beard and an army jacket behind us bent down to pick up the ring and say congratulations to Woody. The moment he started speaking I knew it was my Dad! As he hugged me tightly and told me congratulations, I saw my mom (also dressed in disguise) coming up to hug me.”
Sorenson knew how important it was for Bultman’s family to be there when he asked her to marry him, and according to Bultman, he made it happen in the most special way possible.
“Woody’s stepfather had recorded the entire thing on video, and I had no idea he was even there,” Bultman said. “After the proposal, we went to the bottom of the lighthouse and popped open a bottle of champagne that his mom and I had picked out the night before.”
Bultman was told they were picking champagne for a holiday event. 
She and Sorenson spent the rest of the day gallivanting around the island and telling of their story to anyone they could.
“We wrote our names in the sand, drank ‘I Do’ Martinis, and got upgraded to the Presidential Suite as an engagement gift from the resort,” Bultman said. “After three years of dating, I now get to call my sweet Mississippi boyfriend my FIANCE!”

Randall Haley is the managing editor of HottyToddy.com. She can be reached at randall.haley@hottytoddy.com.