Meet the LetterJess Bride-To-Be Giveaway Finalists

I just love a giveaway, y’all! A few weeks ago I put out a call for recently engaged couples to send me their engagement story. I received so many amazing love stories. Some were so clever. I loved reading every single of them, and was so grateful to each and every entrant for taking the time to share their love story with LetterJess.

The prize pack includes goods and services valued at $500, so the stakes are high- and I’m asking for the LetterJess community’s help to select the winner.

That’s where you come in!

It’s easy to vote for the winner. Here’s what to do:

1. Read these quick engagement stories from the 3 finalist Brides-To-Be. (To be completely fair, I’ve copied/pasted the stories exactly as they were sent to me via email.)

2. Click here to vote for your favorite finalist. Voting will close January 31, 2020. Each vote on the form in this link will count as one vote.

3. Additional votes can be counted for each finalist on the LetterJess Instagram account. The finalists will be summarized in the picture caption.

4. Bonus votes will be awarded for anyone who follows the LetterJess instagram account and comments under their finalist-of-choice’s picture.

Without further ado, let’s meet the three finalists!

Ashley Prentice

My name is Ashley Prentice, and this is my engagement story :).

My fiance, Jonathan and I met in high school in 2010 and began dating in 2011. We dated long distance throughout college between 2012 and 2016. In 2016, I began pharmacy school in Charleston and business school in 2017 and Jonathan began his job as an engineer. We were finally back in the same city! In 2014, we took our first trip to Disney together and made it an annual occurrence. We even became annual passholders this year. Disney will forever hold a special place in our hearts as this is where we got engaged in May. Jonathan planned a surprise photoshoot in front of the castle with the Disney photography team and we spent the rest of the week celebrating. We are now planning our Cinderella-inspired wedding here in Charleston.

Elaine Cantu

I will never forget the first time I saw Jon; this truly was love at first sight! We started dating not too long after, February 23rd, to be exact! Here we are 8 years later and engaged! Jon and I have been through it all since the age of 20! He has stood by me and pushed me to conquer my dreams, goals; and have fun at the same time. Life is so easy when you have a partner in crime by your side!

Fast forward to October 2019, Jon and I decided to take a mini-vacation to Nashville, Tennessee to celebrate my birthday. The moment we stepped into Nashville, I was already amazed by the beautiful buildings and the love for country music. Little did I know a quick trip to the Music City will slowly become part of our love story.

On Saturday, October 19th, Jon wanted to go on the Pedestrian Bridge before dinner so that we can scope out the way to the Titian's game for the next day. As we were walking towards the middle of the bridge, I started complaining about the long walk, ha! Jon slowly stopped me by talking about the goals we have accomplished, and the joy our relationship has brought us.We talked about my upcoming graduation from graduate school and how proud he was of me. He spoke of the house we just purchased and how he was happy we experience the process together. He thanked me for pushing him and being there throughout all the obstacles in life. The setting was beautiful, with the Nashville skyline in the background. When we slowly walked toward the middle, I saw a beautiful display of candles, red roses, and “Marry Me” sign on the table with all our pictures over the years hanging from the bottom!It was everything I could dream about, as I turned around to see him on one knee asking me to marry him. How did I get so lucky? At that moment, everything froze, and it was only Jon and me! Of course, I said yes and cried to the point my contacts fell out! I didn't even notice Mandy from Mandy Liz Photography taking pictures at that moment, so every detail was captured! Jon went above and beyond to make this day so special. It turns out Jon has been planning since May! I would never forget the beautiful pictures that Mandy Liz captured that we would cherish forever. I would also remember the beautiful display that Annie from Elizabeth Events did that made everything perfect. I can honestly say that Jon has captured my heart in many ways, and I can't wait to continue this journey with him. This is my fairy-tale! I’m still in shock that Jon and I will be getting married March 2021 on our 10 years together. Everything has been worth the wait!

Taylor Pollock

My fiancé and I have known each other since we were little kids. Our older brothers used to play baseball together, so our families knew each other, since we were like 8 years old.

My family moved to Kentucky from Texas when I was 5 years old. Then, my family moved back to Texas when I was in the 7th grade, and Clint (fiancé) remained in Kentucky. But sometime between our first move is where we met, and our families connected. Although, 3 years ago, my family decided to move back to Kentucky, for good.

So my fiancé, Clint, and I ended up reconnecting.

We dated off and on for 2 years, and 9 months before getting engaged. The night we got engaged, my family, my brothers girlfriend, Clint, and I were all driving to Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN to look at Christmas lights. The date was December 13th, 2019. We had literally walked the entire hotel, inside and out, and finally decided to leave. When exiting, my mom asked if we wanted to take a picture by the final ‘photo op,’ a Christmas ornament. We both said yes, and went to take pictures. As we were posing, Clint whispered in my ear and said, “I have something to ask you.” Right after that, he got down on one knee, and popped the question. BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!

Calling all Brides-To-Be!

Did you or someone you know recently get engaged? Saying yes to the one you love most is THE MOST AMAZING feeling, and I couldn’t be more excited for you.

If you’re like most folks, the “When are y’all getting engaged” questions are QUICKLY replaced with questions about the wedding. It can sometimes seem like in mere hours of accepting a proposal, a Bride is responsible for knowing when the wedding will be, who will be invited, what the theme should be, etc. All those questions and thoughts are exciting, but it can often be overwhelming to wonder, “how are we going to pay for all this?”

So, isn’t it fun when you have a chance to actually get a few things in this happy time FOR FREE??

I’d love to give you this fabulous package of freebies from LetterJess. As you can see above, there’s some great stuff included!

To enter, all you have to do is follow LetterJess on Instagram. (You can click here to go right to the profile, so following is easy!) Next, send a quick email to me telling me your engagement story. (Please feel free to send a picture along as well.) You can email the entry to: Hello@letterjess.com

Your entry should be received by January 15. Once all the entries are in, I will select a couple as finalists. Your stories will be published here on the blog and the LetterJess community will vote for their favorite. The top vote-getter will be crowned the 2020 LetterJess Bride, and I’ll contact you to get started on all your goodies.

So what are you waiting for? Send me your entry so you can be included. If you’re not getting married, but know someone who is, tag them on the giveaway Instagram post or send them this blog article. If you refer the winning entry to us, you will get a prize here. (Winning is fun!)

I can’t wait to read more of your entries. If you have any questions about the give-away, please let me know.

Running Start

THIS IS NOT A WEIGHT LOSS POST.

This is a post with a goal of putting one of my 2020 goals into context for you in hopes that context resonates with something you’re experiencing as well. (And if it does, I’d love to hear about it. There’s so much power in knowing someone else is thinking about something that’s also on your mind.)

As 2019 concluded and I was digging into the key areas on which I wanted to focus energy this year I noticed a change in some of the words I was brainstorming when I thought about goals related to my physical health. The word “weight” wasn’t to be found on the page. ANYWHERE.

Insert record scratch sound effect here.

To be honest, I don’t know what I actually weigh at this moment, but I’m quite certain the number isn’t an optimum number. Like so many this time of year, some holiday indulgences (going back to July 4th if I’m REALLY honest) have taken their toll. But with all that in mind, a glance at the page where I was journaling my feelings about my physical health turned up words like “balance, awareness, focus, shift.”

I do have some health and wellness goals for 2020, but you won’t find me talking anywhere about losing weight- and that’s on purpose. I don’t have a goal for pounds lost, and I honestly haven’t decided when or if I’ll get on the scale.

My goal this year is to be a better steward of the physical health I’ve been gifted.

I focused on some other areas in my life with greater intensity in 2019, and while those same areas of focus remain in my vision for 2020, I know I cannot let that focus come at the expense of taking care of myself. So, I’m carving in time to get my shoes laced up and get back on the pavement with some running. For me, running (ummm…slowly jogging still counts, right?) represents an activity I can do most anywhere that feels great once I’ve completed it. At some point I’ll tell you more details about my mental and physical journey with running if you’re interested, but for today that activity remains something I can come back to as something like a comfort zone. I know what to expect, what my body responds to and handles well, and it’s easy to set goals and measure progress (something that’s also important to me if I’m going to stick to something.)

So what does that mean about 2020 goals exactly? Well, my husband and I sat on our couch late last month and agreed to sign up for the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon here in town in March. That means we have to get started NOW to be ready.

We’re signed up. We have our respective training plans. Straight honesty again- so far Jodie has been more dedicated than I have been on sticking to the early runs. But I’m doing it. My runs so far have been a mix of torture and triumph. (Literally in the same mile last week I wondered aloud how I’d let my stamina get so low again and then cheered when I finally turned the corner and realized I was almost at my half way point.)

We are lucky here in sweet home South Carolina because temps are hovering in the 60s and low 70s during the day. (IN JANUARY, Y’ALL!!) I can run outside along Ocean Boulevard and not have to be bundled up, so I want to take advantage of that. I know that each time I make the conscious choice to take the time to do this I’m taking advantage of the fact that I CAN do it, and I’m making a conscious effort to do something to help my body stay healthy so I can enjoy my blessings for a long, long time. My connection to the goal of running this race in March is that it will mean I’ve stuck to the goal and made lots of little choices these first few months of the year that will help me reshape my thoughts about moving my body, using food to fuel it and being more deliberate about the commitment to habits I know are important to my long term health.

If you don’t know me well you may not even understand that opening up in a post like this is FAR outside of my comfort zone; yet it represents something I want to do because I know it becomes a public commitment to take care of myself as well.

So what does this mean for you? I have to say I’m not sure- that’s such a personal thing. Do you have a physical health goal? Maybe yours is not to run a race at all but to drink more water or to start walking. Maybe you hate running/walking for exercise, but really love yoga or riding a bike. Maybe you haven’t set ANY physical goals at all because you’re avoiding thinking about those areas of your life right now because other areas are in need of that energy. Hey- that’s okay. We are all in very different spaces mentally about what is important to us, and perhaps more specifically WHY those things are important to us. Your journey is your own. I’ll cheer you on regardless of what your goal is if you’d like to share.

But in the spirit of community and because I needed a new playlist to use on this race journey, I’ve made another Spotify list you’re also welcome to use. It’s filled with some motivational and fun songs I’ll be listening to on repeat these next few months while I’m training and running. Some make me laugh and sing along. Some of these give me a little extra ‘umph’ when I feel like I’m running low on energy or motivation. Some of them bring back memories of things, places or people I love- and make me smile regardless of what I’m doing. I’ll warn you there are a couple songs on this list I didn’t select the edited version, so a naughty word or two may slip in. If that offends you, I apologize; there aren’t many and I’d never purposefully try to offend you. There’s 2 hours and 8 minutes of motivation on this list. (I’ll have to add a few more songs to it before race day because my stretch goal for March is to do the dang thing between 2:30-2:40 total.) If you listen and have an idea for a song that should be added, let me know! You can help me play DJ.

Here’s my promise to you: I won’t be posting daily updates about what run I did (or didn’t do.) That’s not my goal here. My mission with LetterJess is to “Inspire Delight.” I’m delighted every time I get to work on an order for you, but I’m also really delighted when I reach a goal or milestone. When I feel like I’ve overcome something in my own mind that has held me back, or when I hear from you about something wonderful happening in your corner of the world, I AM DELIGHTED!

So go get your shoes on, grab your headphones (are they still called that?) and hit the road with me. I’ll give you a running start. Click here to go to Spotify for my “Running Start” playlist.