Eli Young Band’s Chris Thompson Pops the Question

Need proof of the old saying that things often happen in threes -- just listen to the wedding bells ringing for drummer Chris Thompson of the Eli Young Band!

Chris recently popped the question to Candace Walker, his girlfriend of almost three years, who gave him an enthusiastic 'Yes!' He follows in the footsteps of Mike Eli, who was married March 2009 and Jon Jones, whose wedding date is set for January 29, 2011, in Jamaica.

"I remember the first time I saw her," Chris tells The Boot of Candace. "She was wearing a silver dress and she looked like an angel. She was the most beautiful girl I ever saw in my life. I thought, 'A beautiful girl like that is never going to talk to me.' Then she did."

Ironically, the two wouldn't have met if fate hadn't prompted Candace to accept an invitation to an Eli Young Band concert in Tyler, Texas, many miles from her home but not far from Austin, where Chris lives.

"A friend invited her to the show and she didn't really want to go," Chris says. "She had seen the band [a short time earlier] but decided to come out anyway."

After the show when the band members were mingling with those who had sold merchandise at the show and their friends, Chris spotted Candace. Soon they were dating and it wasn't long until Chris knew he would propose. For months now, he's been like a detective, trying to figure out what kind of ring Candace would most like. He even enlisted her parents in the quest. Unbeknownst to Candace, Chris had asked her dad for her hand in marriage about a month before his September 7 proposal.

"Candace is very romantic and I try to be romantic," says Chris of the proposal which took place during a private picnic at a Napa, Calif., winery while the two were vacationing there. "My hands were shaking. We were sitting next to each other, and she turned away for a moment to look at the view. I had reached into my backpack and pulled out the box with the ring."

In the next few seconds, Chris was on his knee proposing.

"I said, 'Will you be my wife?' and she started crying," recalls Chris. "It was absolutely fantastic. It was very romantic and very beautiful and I couldn't have asked for it to be any better."

When the duo finished their lunch and walked back to greet Becky, the driver they had hired for the day, she asked about the long lunch. Candace showed the driver her engagement ring -- platinum band and a princess-cut diamond that, yes, she loves -- and announced they were engaged.

"The driver laughed and said, 'We figured something was going on!'"

"We're dropping like flies," says band co-founder and guitarist James Young, who will soon be the lone bachelor in the band.

Chris and Candace have set the date -- September 24, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The band's fans join everyone at The Boot in wishing the couple much happiness! The Eli Young Band are currently on tour, with shows in Houston on October 23 and El Paso on October 27. For a complete list of dates and locales, check here.