Paula Rawls, Ethan Walter to wed
Mrs. Shirley Kozma Rawls of Columbia is pleased to announce the engagement of her daughter, Paula Rawls, to Ethan Walter, son of Mr. and Mrs. David Walter of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The bride-elect, a resident of Columbia, also the daughter of the late Mr. James Stuart Rawls III of Columbia. She is the granddaughter the late Mr. and Mrs. Paul “PK” Kozma of Kingstree and the late Mr. and Mrs. J. Stuart Rawls Jr. of Columbia. She graduated from Spring Valley High School, earned an undergraduate degree from Presbyterian College and a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of South Carolina. She is employed as a clinical social worker.
The bridegroom-elect, a resident of Miami, graduated from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He is employed as a program director at Allegis Global Solutions.
The couple plans a October wedding in Charlotte, North Carolina.
In their own words
Q: How did you meet?
A: Ethan and I literally “ran” into each other. Both of us have a huge love for the outdoors and for exercise. We ran past each other for almost a month at Riverfront Park, only acknowledging each other by waving. But all that changed one Saturday morning in October 2013, when we finally bumped into each other at our gym and officially introduced ourselves.
Q: When did you know your fiance was “the one”?
A: When we both realized that everything we used to enjoy independently – from running, cooking, biking, hiking, traveling, to even decorating for Christmas was just that much more of an experience with the other by our side; someone who gets your sense of humor and can balance your desire to make plans with their desire to be spontaneous.
Q: Tell us about the proposal.
A: We were making trips back and forth after he moved to Miami in 2015. Ethan proposed at midnight Dec. 11, 2015, in the Miami Airport – a complete surprise as I got off the plane and made my way to baggage claim, both exhausted and excited to see him. I thought he was waiting for me as usual in the cellphone parking lot, but when I turned the corner to luggage claim, I saw him standing there, holding a sign: “Welcome to Miami Miss Rawls.” He flipped it over; the other side said, “Will you be Mrs. Walter?” He dropped to one knee and proposed with everyone around us shrieking with excitement, and to my surprise, his sister and brother-in-law caught it all on camera and video.