I often think how lucky of a girl I am because I can truly write an entire blog post on how I got engaged. Though the actual proposal has gotten more elaborate and the expectations higher over the last few years, this wasn't the norm even 5 years ago when I got engaged. It definitely was not a typical thing to hire a photographer either, and I'm so thankful Nathan thought outside the box on this one.
I did know that Nathan was going to propose to me sometime during the summer of 2010. As I talked about in last week's blog we had discussed marriage and decided to move forward. What I didn't know was the date of the proposal or how it would all happen. He would often tease me during the summer because I hated not knowing. Secretly he was having trouble with the ring, from the wrong size coming in to the wrong engraving on the inside. It felt like forEVER that I had to wait!
At the time I had an internship in Chesapeake and was staying with a friend, so I often visited Nathan on the weekends and stayed with his parents. One Wednesday he suggested I come over a day early, wear something fancy, and we would go out to dinner. I didn't think too much of it, though of course I was excited for our date.
When Thursday came, he had secretly gotten off work early and loaded his car. I came with all dressed up, ready to go out. His parents insisted on taking pictures (and video!) of us as we got into the car. The pictures didn't tip me off, but pulling out the video camera was unusual, so I started to get excited. I didn't fully figure it out until we started to drive, though, and Nathan began playing music from a playlist he put together of our songs.
We drove over to the City Center at Oyster Point in Newport News, where he grabbed his guitar (?!) out of the back and we walked to the fountains. He didn't say much, and I found out later he was looking frantically for the photographer he asked to photograph our proposal. Finally he decided to go for it, and played our favorite song (I'll Be by The Goo Goo Dolls) to me. Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.
I don't remember too much after that, because I was crying a LOT. It was unexpected but so hoped for, and it took me so long to gather myself that he had to ask again to make sure it was a yes. It was, and at the moment I said yes he pointed over at the photographer (thank you so much, Mark Doyle!) who had captured the whole thing.
After we collected ourselves a little he took me to The Melting Pot, where I probably spent the whole time on the phone telling everyone I could! The next day my parents were coming in town and he had planned it perfectly so we could all go out to Bonefish Grill and celebrate together. If you know Nathan you aren't at all surprised that he had every single detail planned out perfectly.
That was one of the most special days of my life and I'll never forget it - especially because I have pictures of every single moment. Guys, if you're thinking about proposing, ask someone to take pictures of it! And girls, if you're expecting a proposal anytime soon...buy some waterproof mascara ;)
Up next week: how we managed to plan our wedding in just a few short months when we lived hours away from each other!
Previous Posts:
10 Things You Didn't Know about Nathan
10 Things You Didn't Know about Me
Before We Met
How We Met
The First Date
The Struggles of Dating
How We Fell in Love
