Wednesday, May 3, 2017

OUR ENGAGEMENT STORY

Hey y'all!

Today I wanted to share something a little bit different with y'all. Over the weekend, my boyfriend and I got engaged. It was such an exciting and crazy weekend, in all the best ways possible. It still feels like a whirlwind! I wanted to share with y'all the details -- and so I can have the story and all the photos in one place forever!






First off, the day started off pretty early -- my roommate and bestie Shelby and I got up pretty early and got coffee and went to Target. (I was actually on a crazy search for this one particular dress that I really wanted..ha) It was fun to spend the morning with her! I had no idea what all was to come at this point.




Nate had also texted me early telling me that he had left something on the porch for me -- I went out and checked, and he had left a letter and a bouquet of sunflowers (some of my favorite flowers!) on the porch. I thought it was really sweet, but that still didn't tip me off entirely!

A few weeks prior, my other roommate and bestie Carolina had asked if Shelby and I would help her take photos for a project in her photography class. I of course agreed, and didn't think much of it until later. I started to realize it seemed a little ironic, but I was just going with it!




So we all got ready to go take photos. The only downfall was that it was FREEZING cold (like 40 degress) and had been pouring rain for at least 24 hours. I was actually kind of upset and was wondering why Carolina didn't want to just bag the photoshoot and wait for another day. But we went with it! My friends gave me another letter from Nate which more or less led up to the engagement. By this point, I had a pretty solid idea of what was going on!



So we got in the car and drove out to the place Carolina had "booked" for our shoot -- a winery out in the country that was suuuper cute. I hadn't been before, but it is really popular where we live! We got there and went inside, and then Carolina took us to the back where the winery area was. There is also an event space, and there was actually a wedding there that day! It was really pretty too. 



So outside there is a patio area, and then an area that kind of overlooks the hills/the entire vineyard. Then, a rock lined path that leads down a hill to a little meadow/clearing area that was in between two vineyards. 

After we went outside and started walking around, it was obviously evident that we were not having a photoshoot for Carolina's project. Nate was waiting at the bottom of the path in the clearing for me. I gave my friends a big hug and then walked as fast as I could down that hill! In the video it looks like a short walk but I could not walk down that hill fast enough!




It was sooo cold and we ended up getting soaking wet for the most part, but it was so worth it of course! Nate got down on one knee and asked me to marry him, and of course I said yes! The ring is absolutely beautiful and its exactly what I had pictured wanting. The diamond is actually from a pair of earrings that belonged to Nate's grandmother, which is such a special story. I had always thought I would love to have my ring have a history like that, but I just didn't know how or what the story would be!

One funny thing that happened. After Nate proposed, the whole wedding party from the event that was going on at the same time had been out on the overlook area watching the whole thing, and when Nate stood back up, they all cheered so loudly, it was so funny! Then when we walked back up the hill, they were waiting for us with their arms up in a tunnel for us to run through. That was one of the funniest parts! We then went inside and had a glass of wine and warmed up by the fire.

It still feels like a blur a little bit, but I am piecing all of the bits of the day together as I have more time to process it all. Nate had a friend, Ellen take video and photos for us. She is truly amazing and did such a good job! Even in the pouring rain. Here are some of my favorites of the photos she took!







You can also watch the video she made here and view the whole album of photos here. It was so amazing and definitely something that Nate and I will cherish forever.

After that, we went back to my house to warm up because we were FREEZING after being in the rain for so long taking photos and everything. We got coffee from Starbucks, and we drove around in the country for honestly a few hours! We ran into some friends at Starbucks which was really fun. It was so nice to just relax together and spend time alone. We called our grandparents, but other than that we kept our phones off to enjoy being together! I'm so glad we did that.



From there, we kind of got ready again since we were looking a little rough from all the rain. We then went to dinner at a restaurant called Tap House, which I had been craving all day. Another twist in the story was that we were suppose to go on a double date with two of my friends from high school that are dating now, and I had been looking forward to it all day! Obviously that didn't happen but we still went to the restaurant (they have amazing sweet potato fries which are my fav and I had been craving them all day). We also ran into some friends there too, which was really fun again. 




After dinner, I should have known there was more to the day. Nate was kind of acting weird about leaving dinner at a certain time. He had told me that my parents, as well as his, had driven into town to see us, and that they would be waiting for us at his house, along with my roommates and my friends from high school we had originally planned to hang out with that night. 





When we got to his house, I quickly realized that the small gathering was not so small! We walked in the door and there was a pretty huge party! All in all, we probably got to see around 70 of our friends that night, which was really special. There was tons of our favorite foods that our moms and my roommates had organized. Nate's house was decorated cute (in attempt to minimize the man-cave aesthetic!) It was really a blast. Our parents and some of our friends gave toasts, and it was just a blast. I haven't felt so loved in my whole life, I don't think. Seeing all these people we loved all in the same room because they just cared about us was really neat! 




My besties Shelby and Carolina also compiled an entire book of photos, screenshots of texts, quotes, and photos documenting the entire planning process Nate went through to organize this entire day. It was over the span of the entire semester, which makes me appreciate it all even more!

All in all, it was just an exciting day and weekend. I am so pumped for the year to come with all the planning for the wedding, as well as the rest of my life to spend with Nate. So sorry for how long this post is, I just kept thinking of extra details to add in! I also linked some similar pieces to what I was wearing if you are interested in shopping my look.




Thanks so much for reading! I hope to have lots of posts in the future revolving around wedding planning and content, so if you have any suggestions or requests of what you would like to see, please let me know!



Talk to you tomorrow!


"Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony." 
Colossians 3:14

No comments:

Post a Comment