Documenting a week of excitement, anxiety, happiness, and some sort of strange  ironing board karaoke, 22-year-old Lance Jarriel had no doubt that his plan to propose to his love Hannah Hulsey at The Patterson in Valdosta was going to be one of the most important moments of his life. During the night before his proposal, he had this to say in a video recording to his then (fingers crossed) soon-to-be-fiancé:

“Over two years ago I saw for the first time in my life, it’s amazing to me that I can remember that very moment I laid eyes on you. Your beauty that day was far more than I had ever seen. The beauty I’ve come to know over the past two years doesn’t even compare to that. Your love, your passion, humility, humbleness, and your genuinality far exceed anything I’ve ever known. Your love for others, myself and most importantly God is the greatest quality I could ever ask for in a woman.”

Hannah Hulsey, a 20-year-old student and sales associate at The Reef boutique, said yes on May 1, 2016. Since then, the two have shared their story with friends, family, social media, and fortunately for us, Health & Life Magazine.

The couple is both active members of the Azalea City Church of God. Lance and Hannah knew early on that their introduction to each other was important. As their relationship grew over the next few years, neither had a doubt that the other would always be there. The love they shared for each other was unquestionable. However, after dating for three years, Lance realized it was time to propose to Hannah after a spending a joyful day with her.

“Three or four months ago, we took a trip to Atlanta, went downtown, to church and to eat, we had the best day together, Lance says. It was one of those moments and being together all day, I knew it was what I wanted for the rest of my life. So, after we got home from that trip, I started the finding a ring process.”

Now with a marriage to look forward to in November of 2017, Hannah also believes that a true companionship, and the ability to enjoy each other’s company and work together on a daily basis, is what will make her marriage successful–the same reasons Lance chose to take the step to propose.

“For me, marriage means a daily life together,” Hannah says. “Not just in the big picture of being married, but constantly working on that daily relationship throughout the week and throughout the month.”

Lance is currently a Varsity baseball coach at Lowndes High School and the freshman quarterback coach. Hannah is finishing up her cosmetology degree. Lance dreams of becoming a head coach at the University of Georgia, and Hannah doesn’t mind the idea of taking care of children by day and attending her hubbies games with the kids by evening. While they both shared different possibilities of what their marriage could hold, neither of them have a firm plan for the future. But they know two things for sure: they’ll have each other and their faith for a lifetime.

Side note: The pre-engagement documentary is a heart-warming, transparent must-watch filmed by Raeann Strickland, a mass media major at VSU. #JoiningTheJarriels

By Sarah Turner

Health & Life July 2016