While the E2C Network staff strives to cover Auburn Athletics, we pride ourselves on being part of the Auburn Family. Some feel we were born into it, some graduated from or are currently in school at Auburn, and some are just lucky to have “found the light.”

With that said, Auburn University has been integral in multiple of our staff members’ most important relationships. Our post this week will not have anything to do with athletics. As we’ve done before on the site, we’ll attempt to shine light on the personal side of the Auburn Family. Three of our staff members chose to share their stories below.

Ben King, “No Huddle”

A co-host of the “No Huddle” Auburn Football podcast has an incredible story about he and his wife at Auburn. Ben shares with us how Auburn University played a part on their special day:

Almost 7 years ago, I met my wife on The Plains and since then my life has never been the same. To us, Auburn is so much more to us than a fantastic place to get an elite higher education; it is our friends, it is our family, it is our home. Auburn brought us together and there was no other place we wanted to get married than on the most iconic spot on the Plains: Samford Lawn.

Auburn opened up the lawn as a wedding venue while we were in school and we had the opportunity of a lifetime to compete in the first and only War Eagle Wedding competition. Out of 33 couples, we made it to the Top 3 and were given the venue to use for our wedding ceremony. We recently celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary, and looking back on how everything worked out, we’re still blown away and eternally grateful to have been given such a special wedding gift from our Alma mater. War Eagle!

What an incredible location and memory for two Auburn alumni. It’s hard to imagine this competition now as Auburn’s population and the University’s attendance has grown immensely. There is no doubt that the applications would be plenty.

Austin Scott, Featured Blogger

While not married on Samford Lawn, I incorporated Auburn into a proposal for my girlfriend of five years. After meeting in high school and even coming from a strong Alabama fan family, she came to Auburn University. Over our last three years in school here, certain spots of the loveliest village have become sentimental to us.

On what she thought was a “girl’s day” with her close friends, Emily received a series of letters. The first sent her and her friends to Moe’s Southwest in where I first told her I loved her. The next sent her crew to get their nails done in Downtown Auburn. The group then proceeded to Steel City Pops, a new addition to Auburn. Both of our first and current jobs in Birmingham are at Steel City and has paid for many a dates and the ring. The girls took their pops to Samford Lawn on a beautiful day (how much more Auburn does it get than that?). The next letter sent Emily back to Castle apartments where she just moved in. Her family was waiting for her to help her get ready to meet me at the bench in front of Pat Sullivan’s statue.

The bench is incredibly sentimental to us. Our freshman year, we came up with some dreams on how we wanted our next few years to look. I was there waiting on Emily. Once she arrived, we drove to the Big Red Barn in Ag Heritage Park; a place that had not been special to us…yet. Near the lake, some friends had set up a chair for her, soap and water for me to wash her feet and a tree with lots of pictures from over the years (no toilet paper, unfortunately). It was here, with an Auburn sunset on its way, that I popped the question.

Thankfully, she said yes.

Kyle Loomis, Editor-In Chief

Finally, our editor-in-chief has even been in on the action when it comes to being romantic at Auburn. Shortly after the Auburn football team earned themselves some nice rings, Kyle Loomis offered one to his future bride.

Jessica and I had long been in the same circle of friends at Auburn during our college years – just never in each other’s circle. We actually were dating other people within that bigger circle. It’s funny that it took two bad break-ups and many long months of self-searching for our circles to finally intersect. I guess that’s why we have such a fondness for the Auburn Baptist Campus Ministries. It was the right place at the right time for the right people to meet each other.

After a year and half of dating, I finally got the courage to buy Jessica a ring at Ware Jewelers in Downtown Auburn. To make the moment even more special, a miraculous event had occurred that year. It was February 2011; one month after winning the BCS National Championship. So naturally I incorporated it into my proposal.

Thanks to some friends and someone in the athletic department, I had her ring placed in the Rane Reception Room right next to the BCS crystal ball trophy. We took a tour of the room and its many trophies, all the while leading her to the ring. Once there, I couldn’t get her to look at the ring, because she was too busy looking at Cam Newton’s display. Go figure. When she finally turned around, including a double take, I hit a knee. I gave what I thought was a great speech about how she was the greatest trophy I could ever hope for in life. Until, I realized she hadn’t been listening because she was in such shock. So I stumbled through my speech again and thankfully she remembered to say yes.

Auburn will always be home. The Auburn BCM will always have a special place in my heart – not only because of my pride for my team and my school. Without these places, I would have never have won the ultimate honor of my life – to be the husband of Jessica Reece Loomis.

I think Kyle put it best when he says “Auburn will always be home”. That’s why it is so special for each of us to have a part of our school so integral in a new season of our life. Auburn gives us each so much. To include it in such an important phase of our life, is one way of giving back.

AUGUST 16, 2018 UPDATE

Clint Richardson, “Inside the Jungle” and “Hitchcock Hecklers”

Another E2C Network member had his own Auburn engagement recently. After a full year since posting the original stories, we decided to add his story to the mix and share it with the Auburn Family. Our own, Clint Richardson, shares his story of how he became engaged to his girlfriend, Autumn:

I’ve never been good at keeping secrets or a straight face. So, keeping everything a secret from Autumn for nearly two weeks was the most difficult thing. Thankfully I was in Florida during the entire planning process or else I never would have survived.

My mother’s birthday was the next week, so we used that as an excuse to go out to a nice dinner in Downtown Auburn. Being as I hadn’t been in town or on campus in a while, we took our time walking through Samford Lawn towards Toomer’s Corner. Once we got to Toomer’s Corner, I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I finally spilled that we didn’t actually have reservations Downtown (thanks graduation) and that the whole evening wasn’t for mom’s birthday.

Before I could even drop to a knee, she started crying. The surprise was kept intact the entire time and work perfectly! It felt like a hidden camera television show afterwards, pointing out a friend across the street taking photos, the Toomer’s Corner web cam where some friends were watching, and her family standing next to mine in the alleyway by J&M Bookstore.

Do you have a proposal or wedding story involving Auburn? Share it with us in the comments!

Featured image via The Hotel at Auburn University