{"id":37879,"date":"2013-04-29T05:35:57","date_gmt":"2013-04-29T10:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/?p=37879"},"modified":"2013-04-30T07:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-04-30T12:00:00","slug":"marine-proposes-to-girlfriend-during-vwhs-promenade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2013\/04\/29\/marine-proposes-to-girlfriend-during-vwhs-promenade\/","title":{"rendered":"Prince Charming ‘pops question’ at prom"},"content":{"rendered":"

CINDY WOOD\/<\/strong>independent feature writer<\/em><\/p>\n

Who needs a glass slipper when you\u2019re holding some serious bling in your pocket?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Morella Mills gasps as her boyfriend, Marine Private First Class Luke Ray, reaches into his pocket for an engagement ring. (Cindy Wood\/Van Wert independent)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Saturday evening\u2019s prom at Van Wert High School had all the makings of a classic Cinderella story. VWHS senior Morella Mills already knew who her Prince Charming was. She also knew the clock was ticking and the next day (not midnight), her prince, Crestview High School graduate and Marine Private First Class Josh Ray, would board a plane for specialty training at Norfolk, Va.<\/p>\n

What she didn\u2019t know, however, was that her prince would become her fianc\u00e9 the clock struck 12 after a surprise proposal in front of a packed gymnasium during the promenade. As the couple strolled in together and made their way to the center of the gym floor, Ray turned to Mills, dropped to his knee, and pulled out a ring.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, I said yes!\u201d Mills said. \u201cThere wasn\u2019t a chance that I would say no! There wasn\u2019t a doubt in my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which was a huge relief for the nervous groom-to-be, who admits his entire body was shaking as they came into the gym. \u201cI was so nervous,\u201d Ray admitted, adding, \u201cI\u2019m sure if the cameras could have got me as I was walking in, you would have seen my whole body shaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

The couple\u2019s young love story began two years ago when they met at youth group at Jennings Road Church of Christ, where Ray\u2019s father, the Rev. David Ray, has served as senior pastor since 2000. Both Ray and Mills were coming out of relationships at the time, and the two leaned on each other for support.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt kind of grew on both of us, I think,\u201d Mills said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t even talk to each other for a while because we didn\u2019t really know each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

But at a youth event one night at the church, Ray was looking to get Mills\u2019 attention. \u201cSo he smacked me in the face with a pillow,\u201d Mills said with a laugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to do something,\u201d Ray countered.<\/p>\n

Regardless, it got her attention and the two finally exchanged numbers and began dating in June of 2011. \u201cWe were both kind of at low points because we both had gone through break-ups, but we just talked each other through everything and it kind of grew from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although she knew it meant Ray would have to leave her side when he became a Marine after his high school graduation, she fully supported his decision, as did Ray\u2019s father, who is extremely proud of his son\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe asked me one day \u2018Dad, what do I do? Should I become a Marine or go to college?\u2019\u201d David Ray said. \u201cI told him by all means became a Marine, because I won\u2019t have to pay tuition,\u201d he added, jokingly.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I told him it was his choice, and that God had given him gifts to make an impact that only he can,\u201d Rev. Ray went on to say, \u201cand I think he believes that this is what God has called him to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

After 13 weeks of basic training at Parris Island, S.C., Ray was sent to the Camp Geiger School of Infantry in North Carolina for further training. He was home on leave for three weeks before he would depart for Virginia for specialty training, which gave him enough time to plan the proposal.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, he had some help from both families. \u201cJosh had already bought the ring, and after he had gone back to infantry training, Mo\u2019s dad, Matt, and I were talking after a midweek Bible study that he and I are a part of,\u201d David Ray said, \u201cand we knew that after Josh came home from the school of infantry it may be a couple of years before we would see him again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Together, the men discussed Ray popping the question at prom. Then Mill\u2019s father went a step further and suggested Ray propose during promenade. \u201cSo Josh and I snuck into the high school a while back and spoke with (VWHS Principal) Bill Clifton to let him know what we were thinking. Then he started calling administrators and, all of a sudden, there was a roomful of people figuring out how we were going to pull this off.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proposal went off without a hitch. While the couple may be young, they each said it\u2019s the right decision at the right time. \u201cOur relationship started out of a friendship, and I think that\u2019s really important,\u201d Mills said. \u201cHe\u2019s my absolute best friend and we are both completely honest with each other; well, except for the whole proposal thing,\u201d she added with a laugh.<\/p>\n

Ray agreed, and said they are so alike it\u2019s scary sometimes. \u201cWe\u2019re almost mirror images of each other in terms of how we feel about things,\u201d Ray said. \u201cI just took the time I needed and I prayed about it and thought about it and I just came to know in my heart that she was the one. It\u2019s what I felt and what I believe in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ray professed those feelings to Mills as he asked for her hand in marriage. \u201cI told her I loved her more than anything and that I wanted to promise her forever,\u201d Ray said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was so sappy!\u201d Mills added with a laugh.<\/p>\n

On the way to the airport the next day to see her fianc\u00e9 off, Mills reflected on her big moment, noting that she was overcome with emotion. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to describe how I felt, but looking back, it does kind of seem like Cinderella, with my Prince Charming, my Marine,\u201d she said. \u201cWe just had such an amazing night celebrating with all of our friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the families, who were in on the secret, it was a proud and memorable moment. \u201cI was tearing up and trying to take a hundred pictures,\u201d David Ray said, \u201cbut to see the genuine joy on Josh\u2019s face, and his confidence as he was walking with her \u2026 that\u2019s a moment that nobody will ever take away from me.\u201d<\/p>\n

With her high-school graduation right around the corner, Mills is anxious to begin her life with her Marine. \u201cI\u2019m going to hold off on college for right now until we know where Josh will end up,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I\u2019m looking forward to getting a full-time job and begin saving money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Mills and Ray said they\u2019re extremely grateful for their families, who are in full support of the couple. \u201cWe\u2019re close with our parents and my dad has fallen in love with Josh and treats him like a son,\u201d Mills said, adding, \u201cand Josh\u2019s dad is kind of our pastor, so his approval is very important to us. We\u2019re just so thankful our parents and families are on board with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And just like the classic love tale, Cinderella and her prince are ready to head off into their own version of \u201chappily ever after.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CINDY WOOD\/independent feature writer Who needs a glass slipper when you\u2019re holding some serious bling in your pocket? Saturday evening\u2019s prom at Van Wert High School had all the makings of a classic Cinderella story. VWHS senior Morella Mills already knew who her Prince Charming was. She also knew the clock was ticking and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-07 13:11:10","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37879\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}