Will You Marry Me? Ummm... YEAH!

Isn't my fiance the cutest?

Pardon the nappy nails

There are two sides to every story and I always enjoy hearing them. Therefore, I thought it would be fun to give you a little insight to our proposal with a bird’s eye perspective and let you hear both ends.

He Said…

The ring was purchased two weeks before the proposal but stayed in his home at the jewelry store for safekeeping. When the ring was finally picked up 5 days before the big day a wave of panic swept over me…What if she doesn’t like it?!? What if everything I thought she said was completely opposite and I got her the ring of her nightmares? Quickly I calmed down and assured myself that she would love it. Amidst all the questioning from Ashley and the persistent prodding from her friends I was able to keep cool and not give away any secrets about the timeline I had in mind. I wanted it to be an absolute surprise and that made for a not so happy girlfriend.

I knew that Ashley wanted her sister to be in town when I proposed so I’ll place part of the blame on her for living so far away. As the day was soon approaching I tried to give Ashley a few hints throughout the week by reminding her of some firsts in our relationship, also making the suggestion that we go out to eat when I was home the coming weekend. I never thought it would be hard to convince her to let me take her on a nice date, but it was surprisingly hard to persuade her to go.

On the day of our date, I knew I had to convince Ashley to go back to her house after dinner instead of heading straight over to see her sister and niece. So, I purposely left my phone at her house, simple enough right? Well, after a great dinner, Ashley was not amused that I needed to go get my phone and that she had no ring on her finger yet. I could see it in her eyes, I had succeeded and she had no idea what was coming her way! Once we reached her house I had to practically carry her inside and offer her millions of dollars. Maybe it wasn’t quite that dramatic, but you get the picture.

Once inside I set up camp while she ran back and got something from her room. When she walked back out I told her that I loved her, dropped down on one knee, said something that I can’t recall at all (nerves will do that), pulled out the ring and she said YES! I was also very lucky to be able to give Ashley my Grams’s wedding and engagement ring along with her own. We then headed off to my parent’s to “drop by real quick” before going to her parent’s house. Little did she know our family and some close friends were there to celebrate our engagement with us. It was a great end to an even better beginning.

She Said...

The weeks leading up to the proposal were filled with questioning from several friends and the general population: “Do you think a ring is coming soon?” “When do you think he will propose?” etc. etc. This heightened my level of alertness as well as questioning skills, much to Chris’ dismay. The week prior to the proposal was my spring break, so we talked on the phone a little more than usual. Every day during our conversations he would throw in a sweet little, “Remember when…” or “Wasn’t it fun when…” It was cute, sweet, and a little unlike Chris, but I didn’t think much of it. My sister was visiting this particular week and so we watched her favorite show pretty religiously, Say Yes to the Dress. Little did she know I would drive home crying my eyes out wondering if there was EVER going to be a time when I would be picking out my dress (I know, a little dramatic there, but seriously).

Chris threw out the idea of going out to eat that coming Saturday evening and making it a special dinner out. I assumed he was tired of riding my emotional roller coaster and decided to go above and beyond to tame my wild imagination and bide him some time before engagement talk infiltrated our conversation again. We agreed on a location and the “special date” was set.

We had a lovely dinner, until our plates were cleared and something triggered “marriage” conversation and I got a little teary eyed. We were getting ready to leave and he declared that we would need to swing back by my house before heading down to my parents to see my sister and niece. I argued this for a few minutes, but gave in. On the drive back to my house, my thoughts took control and I shed a few tears. I really don’t know why I was so wrapped up in all of this emotion.

We got to the house; I refused to go inside despite some polite coercing from Chris that finally led to him agreeing to spill the beans on what his Grandma had told him back in October. As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat, so I begrudgingly headed inside. I went back to my room to set some stuff down, came back into the kitchen where Chris proceeded to give me a hug and pour out some sweet words, which was followed by getting down on one knee. I melted, of course, and screeched yes.

After hearing the “secret” which included him giving me her wedding band and engagement ring, we headed towards his parent’s house where cheese cake, family, and friends were waiting to celebrate with us. It was perfect and lovely.