WE'RE ENGAGED!

April 15th, 2023

The shock, the excitement, the anticipation!! It is all so real. Here is how it went down, the things I loved about it and would recommend if you are anticipating a proposal real soon!

Jesse and I have been dating for over 6 years, many years were long distance, and we had finally been living in the same state! So it was no surprise to me that he was popping the question soon, however, being the type A, wedding planner that I am, I was hoping it would have been a year ago by now... all to say, he had a BIG task ahead of him :)

Leading up to this day there had been quite a bit of transition in our life, as well as a few instances that made me a little suspicious that today could be the day. We had a plan to drive to Sunset beach for the day and walk to the Kindred Spirit mailbox (If you don't know what this is, please read Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks). But it is essentially a mailbox that anyone and everyone can write letters to, and read what has been left. So we woke up early, started the drive, and once you arrive you have to walk about a mile and a half. As we approached the mailbox there were so many people (all strangers). I get to the mailbox and inside was our journal that we had mailed back and forth during years of long distance. From there I blacked out and the rest is history!

We spent the weekend in a "bubble" with both of our families (he flew my family in which made my heart explode), and by the time we were heading back home I just felt so much joy. Truly on cloud 9!

THINGS I LOVED:

1. Time alone together right after, and hearing all about the process and conversations he had with important people in our lives

2. Spending the rest of the weekend with our families celebrating and sharing stories

3. Taking so many pictures and capturing the feeling + milestone. We also journaled our favorite moments, people’s reactions, and the little things we wanted to remember forever 

I WOULD RECOMMEND:

1. Letting yourself feel what you are feeling! I did NOT react in the way I thought I would, however, I felt so much peace

2. Having a list of people who I knew I wanted to tell, and sharing when it felt right. My phone was conveniently broken, but not breaking our "bubble” for 24 hours was special 

3. Please don’t start planning yet! Just soak it all in, there will be time to plan
   

If you are feeling stuck in the waiting season, my encouragement to you is that it will all work out how it is supposed to. The timing of Jesse's proposal, our wedding date, and all the plans that have fallen into place is exactly how it was meant to be.

I wanted to share a little bit about our engagement story, the season we were in, and things I would suggest to anyone before diving head on into all the logistics of how to plan a wedding, I can't wait to share the next steps in blogs to come!