KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — For visitors and locals alike, Market Square is a place where memories are made. It's where some people dance and sing during events. For others, it's the place where they were swept off their feet.
On Wednesday, a serviceman drove 8 hours from Norfolk, Virginia to downtown Knoxville to surprise his girlfriend in Market Square. She was in the middle of a photoshoot when he snuck up behind her.
"I was very anxious and nervous about the whole thing, making sure everything went as planned," said Hunter Lowe. "I've been planning this for weeks with my mom and her mom."
He is in the Navy and said he was not approved to take the trip to Knoxville until the day before. After weeks of planning to surprise his fiancé, Sarah Hatmaker, they are now going to spend months planning a summer wedding event.
Before that though, they said they plan to tie the knot in December. Lowe said he expects to deploy in December, so they will have a smaller ceremony in Gatlinburg surrounded by friends and family.
"I have no words," said Hatmaker. "I'm very surprised. And the ring is beautiful — it's my great-great aunt's ring."
The couple said they have been together for over a year and always wanted a summer wedding. She was working at a restaurant in Knoxville when the two first met, and they said it was love at first sight.