Today we are lucky enough to share the amazing photos and sweet, sweet {Clemson} love story of Amanda and Philip -- both Clemson alums, Philip graduated in May of 2013 with a degree in Civil Engineering and Amanda graduated in December of 2013 with a degree in Elementary Education.
When Amanda moved to Clemson in the Fall of 2009 to start college, she had no intentions on finding a serious relationship, much less finding one her freshman year. Amanda met Philip her second day at Clemson. After Amanda and her roommate Kirsten moved in, their neighbors asked them to come meet some guys with them. Amanda tells us, "I wandered across the road to Calhoun Courts. As soon as we walked in the door, one of the guys immediately stood up and introduced himself. 'Hey, My name is Philip!' was the first thing we heard."
After that night, Amanda and Philip became Facebook friends and he asked for Amanda's number. Since she wasn't looking for a serious relationship at the time, Amanda says, "I sort of blew him off at first. We hung out lots as friends, but soon I was beginning to tell that I may have some feelings for him."
Amanda finally agreed to go on one date with Philip, nothing serious. They went on their first date in early January 2010. "It was the best date I had ever been on", says Amanda.
The Proposal (as told by Amanda herself)
Although we had talked about our future on many occasions and I knew that we were going to be engaged one day, Phil was still able to surprise me (which is a very difficult task to do with me being such a curious person).
This past February, Phil asked me if I wanted to go to Clemson the next weekend. I asked him why and he told me that there were some baseball games. He knew we both missed the campus and he wanted to take me out to Pixie and Bill's for dinner. We got off of work early on Friday and he picked me up. Even though it's normal for me to talk a lot, I noticed that on the ride to Clemson, he was more quiet than usual.
As we were coming into Clemson, he suggested that we ride by and look at campus for a bit before we met our friends for dinner since we hadn't really walked around it in a while. We walked around Sikes and that area talking about things we had done during our four years at Clemson. I was a little wary of why we were walking around campus in the dark. I even told Phil that it was kind of ridiculous because we couldn't see anything at night.
After walking to Tillman, we made our way to President's Park. Neither of us had ever walked through it, even though it was between the places that we lived our freshman year when we met. Of course Clemson legend has it that if you walk through President's Park holding hands with your loved one, you will end up married. We looked around in the Rotunda and went down memory lane again, talking of things from our undergraduate days.
While we were talking, Phil looked at me and said "I love you. And I want to continue the tradition that happens here." He then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was so surprised and in shock that I don't even remember saying yes (I found out later that I did, no worries)! After about five minutes of hugging and crying, I finally looked at the beautiful ring he had designed for me all on his own. We stayed there for a little while soaking up the moment together and then began to make the phone calls and send the texts to all of our loved ones. He only told his parents and he asked my dad for permission, so we were able to tell all of our friends and the rest of our families. It was very sweet and private, perfect for us, in the perfect location where we fell in love and spent our relationship.
We enjoyed the rest of the weekend celebrating our engagement and spending time with our friends that happened to be in town for the weekend. There really is "something in those hills".
Clemson has played a major role in the couple's relationship. It's the place where they first met, where they grew in their relationship (4 years of dating) and where they got engaged. The couple hasn't missed a home football game, and they have a close group of friends that they tailgate with. It's the place where all of their friends can meet up and reminisce on their amazing college years together. The two have purchased season football tickets since graduating and plan on continuing to make many trips back. Amanda and Philip both fell in love with the town, the people and everything about Clemson while they were attending college -- so it's no surprise they chose Clemson as the location for their engagement photos. The couple even plans to move back to the Upstate in a few years to be closer to their favorite place in the world.
Amanda's and Philip's rehearsal dinner will be Clemson themed with lots of Clemson surprises for their quests.. Purple has always been one of Amanda's favorite colors and it's a nice coincidence that it is a Clemson color! Amanda also shared some of her Clemson-esque wedding details, but wants to keep it a secret so her guests are surprised. Her guests will definitely be delighted - especially the Clemson alums. :) Hopefully Amanda will share her wedding photos with us next year!
A special thanks to Amanda's and Philip's engagement photographer Annabeth Garrett of AB Photography, a recent Clemson grad, for allowing us to share her gorgeous photos.
And a special thanks to Amanda and Philip for sharing their photos, but also for sharing their super sweet love story. We love a good Clemson love story!
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