Our Engagement Story

The story of our engagement is little unorthodox. I started serious wedding planning before Hugh proposed. We even booked our venue and photographers over a month before! But this is our life and our story, so it is what it is!

I’m not sure exactly when we started talking about getting married in 2020. I’ve always wanted a fall wedding and didn’t want to be engaged more than a year, so when we had serious conversations about when exactly we would get married in early 2019, Fall 2020 made sense! We treated it kind of like any other major life decision and made it together rather than Hugh proposing out of nowhere.

October/November: Wedding Research Begins

Knowing they book up almost a year in advance, I started researching venues in October. We also went ring shopping so Hugh knew what I liked and could confidently pick something out. I wanted him to be able to be able to do the whole ring and proposal thing himself.

This is where I started to get a little unconventional on the wedding planning timing! We toured a couple venues and they were almost out of dates in September and October, so we went ahead and booked the venue in November. I also found photographers whose schedule filled up months in advance, so we booked them! Sure, I felt a little weird explaining that we weren’t technically engaged yet, but you gotta do what you gotta do!

December: (Im)patiently Waiting on the Ring

One thing that was important to both me and Hugh was asking my dad for my hand. This is totally old school and was kind of arbitrary since we had already put down deposits, but I love that he did it. I (rightly) suspected that he would ask over Thanksgiving, meaning he would propose shortly after! You would think…

For the first three weeks fo December I was in total limbo. Since I didn’t want to ask Hugh about it and ruin a surprise, I could not understand why he hadn’t proposed yet! I hesitantly continued to plan our regular date nights and hanging out with friends, confused about why he wasn’t trying to sneak something onto our calendar. I just had to keep telling myself that it would all come together, to stop being a brat (lol), and to trust him. Turns out, it was worth the wait!

December 19th, 2019: He Proposes!

On Thursday, Dec. 19th, I had a hair appointment. I chatted with my hair girl about the wedding planning and whole limbo situation. On the way out, I said something like, “Every time I go home, I ask myself if I’m walking into a proposal.” I didn’t actually suspect anything that night though at all! I took my time, even talking to a friend on the phone waiting in the parking lot for a little bit.

When I finally got home, I could see a poster hanging inside the window next to the door. I thought to myself, “This is it!” and went inside.

It was so magical. Our entrance is on the first floor with stairs immediately up to the second-level apartment. Hugh left a note with something he loves about me or about us or our future together on each stair and then in a line down the hall towards a closed door. Tea lights lined the hallway like a runway, too. There ended up being over 30 notes! Some made me tear up, but he perfectly timed funny ones to make me giggle. The last card said something like, “I hope you say YES!”

I opened the door to Hugh down on one knee. And I, of course, said yes!

Time to Celebrate

I pulled him up to kiss him and he almost fell over! He had knelt down when he first heard me and underestimated how long I’d take to read each note, so his leg had completely fallen asleep!

We immediately called our parents and siblings and texted friends and family while popping champagne. Then we went out for a late dinner and drinks at Sedona Taphouse!

Apparently my ring kept getting delayed, which forced Hugh to push out the proposal. And then he forgot to get his hair cut on his day off, so he kept me in limbo an extra week…

But it did all work out and I loved it! It was also probably good for me to exercise patience and relinquish some control!

What is YOUR story?

I love hearing engagement stories! Comment below with yours!