Yes… the contest winners are plural.  OK.  Today there is BIG news in the SS&G world.  There are official winners to the official contest and then are winners to an even BIGGER prize.  So I said someONE would win $500 off their wedding retainer fee and they did!

The Winners of the $500 Gift Certificate are Ellen and Ty!!!!!

Ellen, of course, is close to my heart.  She is an ER nurse at UK Hospital.  Enough said there!  LOL

Here’s their story:

Ty and Ellen

Ty, 26, and Ellen, 24, grew up hundreds of miles away from each other. Ty, the oldest of 4, grew up on military bases until middle school then planted roots in Southeast Kentucky. A typical boy, Ty enjoyed 4-wheeling, hunting, and most of all, getting into trouble. Ellen, on the other hand, was born in Western Kentucky, but moved to Northern Ohio when she was only 2. The youngest and only girl of 3, Ellen attempted to rule the household. She was constantly singing, playing sports, and daydreaming about anything!

After high school Ty moved to Lexington to begin his career in law enforcement and to go to college. Three years later, Ellen also made the trip to Lexington to go to UK’s Nursing School. It would take three more years for the two to finally lock eyes.

Love at First Site

In October of 2006 Ellen was working in the UK Emergency Dept as a nursing care tech. It just so happened that Ty was working at the Fayette County Detention Center as a corrections officer that day and one of the inmates needed to be transported to the hospital. While walking past “E Bed” Ellen saw the most handsome man in uniform that she had ever seen. Their eyes met for what seemed like forever, but she kept walking. Ty had thought the same thing! He knew he wanted to see that nurse again, but could not leave the inmate alone. Just moments later Ellen walked by again for a second and closer look! Since that was not one of her assigned patients, Ellen found the nurse taking care of him to see if there was ANYTHING she could do in that room! The patient would soon be transported upstairs and needed to be placed on a transport monitor. Ellen jumped at the opportunity of seeing the officer again. While in the room Ty and Ellen exchanged only two sentences: Ty asked, “What floor will he be going to?” and Ellen replied, “I think the 6^th floor.”

They never exchanged names, they didn’t know anything about each other, but they both knew that they wanted to see each other again.

The Meeting

Two months flew by and Ty and Ellen kept hoping they would bump into each other again. Both regretted not talking more to the nameless person they saw months earlier.

On December 31^st, 2006, fate stepped in to bring the two together. Unbeknownst to them, Ty’s cousin, Abby, was one of Ellen’s friends. Abby had been planning on introducing the two of them for years, but it just never happened until that night. Abby and Ellen went to a friend’s party that evening to celebrate the New Year. Abby invited Ty to come along as well.

Just before midnight Ty walked into the party with some of his friends. He saw Abby across the room and began walking toward her. As he got closer to his cousin he suddenly recognized the girl Abby was talking with. It was the nurse from the hospital that he had seen two months ago. When Ty arrived at Abby’s side Ellen looked up and recognized him as well. As Abby introduced them it was just like the movies when you think you might be talking and saying the polite hellos, but you can’t stop staring into the other person’s eyes.

Yes, their first kiss was 20 minutes later at midnight, and we would love to tell you that they lived happily ever after, but would just be too easy.

In the morning of January 1^st, Ty was sitting in his living room telling his roommates that he had found the girl he was going to marry. Of course, they didn’t believe him. Ty had only known Ellen for a few short hours, but he was sure that she was the one for him.

Across town, Ellen was sitting with Abby telling her that her cousin was cute, but not the person for her! Her “perfect officer” that she had been dreaming about just wasn’t as perfect as she had hoped.

Although Ellen wasn’t sure about Ty, he never had a second thought. Ty called Ellen almost every day for two long weeks, but nothing he said made her want to go on a date with him. Finally, Ty had a genius idea. He asked his parents for their season tickets to the upcoming UK Basketball game. He called Ellen one final time to ask her to the game and vowed that if she said no he would finally give up. Ellen, a huge UK fan, knew that she could not say no to UK basketball tickets and accepted his offer.

Somewhere between laughing hysterically at Ty’s crazy jokes that night and sitting at a crowded bar that evening talking endlessly, Ty had won Ellen’s heart.

A Long Time Coming

Two years after their first meeting Ty and Ellen had both changed a lot, but had grown together. Ty was now a police officer at Transylvania University, and Ellen was a Registered Nurse in the UK Emergency Dept. Both knew they wanted to get married, but when was the big question.

The first week of December 2008, Ty and Ellen planned a trip to their favorite vacation spot, Sanibel Island, Florida. As Ellen packed their suitcases the night Ty hoped that Ellen would not pick up one of his boots because that is where he had hid the ring earlier in the day.

On November 30^th they jumped on a plane to Florida. Ty was sweating bullets as security looked through their luggage. He was praying they wouldn’t need to look through his bag and pull out the ring in front of Ellen. On the way to Florida, Ty only had one word answers to all of Ellen’s questions. She figured he was mad at her for some reason, but tried to stay positive and think about the warm beaches and breath-taking sunsets she would soon see. Ty, on the other hand, was more nervous than he had ever been in his whole life. He was nervous that she would find the ring. He was nervous about what to say. He was nervous that, God forbid, she would say no!

They arrived in Sanibel one hour before sunset, and Ty insisted they go for a walk on the beach. Since this was the first and happiest statement he had said all day she couldn’t refuse.

The walk started out nicely, but after a mile and ½ of walking Ellen wanted to turn around and Ty was still too nervous to get on one knee. After reaching the end of the island they finally turned around to walk back and watch the sunset. While talking about their future together Ellen jokingly made the comment that they would get married in 5-10 years. At that moment, while the sun was setting, a warm breeze was blowing, and the lighthouse was in the distance, Ty dropped to one knee. He pulled out the most beautiful ring, and said, “Well, how about now?” Ellen doesn’t quite remember everything else he said, but does remember that the first thing out of her mouth was “Nuh-uh.” Then Ty said, “Ummm… is that a yes?” and “Can I get up now?” After saying “Oh my gosh” for what seemed like forever they both called their family and friends to tell them about the good news. They spent an amazing week in Sanibel, and then flew back to Kentucky.

In the end, it doesn’t really matter how they met, what their engagement was like, or how their wedding will turn out. What really matters is that they found each other, and they are going to live happily ever after!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 at 2:12 pm and is filed under contests .