We're ENGAGED!!!♡
All requested proposal & ring details answered!
If you are family or friends reading this, the moment you
have all been waiting for has come! Finally after 7 years of dating, we're ENGAGED!!!
Since our first month, yes month, of dating we have gotten the question of "when are you getting married" non-stop! But we always had a plan. Such as travel, education & careers. We are still young & have always had such a deep love & commitment for one another that we never felt like we had to rush marriage. But maybe more on that later. I would love to write a post about the details of our relationship on what goals we wanted to reach before marriage, why we wanted these things, & how we achieved them.
As I mentioned in my About Me page, I wanted to create this page
as a little memory book I can look back on for years to come & to answer all the questions that get sent to my inbox. So I definitely plan to do a whole series about our wedding planning complete with venues, vendors, dress shopping & parties parties parties! As for this post, I wanted to answer the overwhelming amount of questions I got about our engagement trip, the proposal & yes, the number one question, the bling bling! ;)
I hope all the details and links below answer your questions! Apologies that this is one of my longer writings. If you are looking to just cut to the chase and get the links, scroll to the bottom. :)
The Proposal
If you know Mitch, then you know he went above and beyond to make sure this moment perfect for me. I know we aren't suppose to use that word, because nothing is suppose to be perfect, but I truly wouldn't have changed a thing.
We were vacationing in one of the most gorgeous places I have ever been. As you can see in the photos, it looked like we were living in dream-sicle. The proposal was very much a surprise as Mitch led me to believe he didn't really want to go on this trip at all (tricky one). We like to take one big trip a year to get a break from the day-to-day and 9-5 work life. This year I chose the Bahamas. It was a place in the Caribbean we had never been, and I really wanted to swim with the pigs and the sharks! Mitch kept telling me he wasn't sure if he would be able to get away from work and that it wasn't the best time to go. I insisted we needed a vacation and that it would be good for us. Little did I know he was just pulling my strings.
The travel down there could not be anymore of a classic case of a nervous man with an expensive diamond ring in his bag about to propose to his girlfriend. However, Mitch was very calm and didn't give anything away as a series of unfortunate events ensued. Mitch always travels light, he's a guy, a lucky guy that doesn't have to pack waterproof make-up and humidity fighting hair spray to go to an island. Therefore when he only packed a carry one for our trip, nothing was out of the ordinary. But he was very strategic as he didn't want to let his bag out of his sight. As we boarded our flight in Austin to Miami, he was informed that the plane was fully booked and all the overhead compartment space was taken. They told him they would have to check his bag for him. Right away, the bag is taken out of his hands. Again, trying to remain calm, he only made one mention that he hoped they didn't loose his bag.. off to Miami we go.
The flight from Austin to Miami seemed to take longer than we expected. Just as we were starting to get antsy, the pilot came on over the intercom system and informed us that there was a large storm over Miami and that we would have to fly around in circles to let it pass before we could land. We had a straight away connecting flight to Nassau, Bahamas. We were hopeful as first but after flying around in the sky for a hour, we knew we would be missing our next flight. This is often how bags are lost, when your original itinerary is disrupted and your bag continues on without you. A little anxiety set in for both of us. I just don't like missing flights as I know that customer support lines and finding new flights can take hours upon hours. Mitch just did not want to loose his bag, well the ring, I don't think he really cared about any of his clothes or other contents at this point. We finally land in Miami, our connecting flight to The Bahamas long gone. As predicted, customer service lines forever long as the entire Miami airport had also missed flights. Just as I was accepting our fate of not making to the islands anytime soon, Mitch became a travel superhero. He found a number listed on some random customer service sign, called it and booked us on the next flight out to the islands. We didn't even have to wait in the long lines just to speak to a travel agent, we had two seats with our names on it. The only thing, the flight was leaving now! We rushed to the other end of the crowded airport in hopes of catching our lucky new flight. Out. of breath we checked into the gates desk. We had made it! However, so did another storm. Stuck in Miami once again, but at least this time we were grounded. Flying around in the sky during a tropical storm isn't ideal I might add. We must of had a little luck left in our tanks as the storm passed quickly and were able to board our flight. The flight from Miami to The Bahamas is quick and easy. Beautiful as well! Seeing the clear waters out of my little oval window lifted my spirits again and I was ready for a week of adventuring and relaxing. Mitch however still had the lingering question if his bag would be waiting for him when we got there. The airport in Nassau is small. We exited on the tarmac and watched our bags get loaded off the plane one by one. As fate would have it, my bag came off rather quickly. Then everyone else's bags. Slowly but surly everyone was receiving their bags, except Mitch. This is when I saw him start to sweat it a bit. Still I suspect nothing as Mitch is very particular about his shampoos and soaps. I start to roll my eyes and assure him hotel shampoo and soap will do him just fine for a day while we find his bag.Easy to say when your the one with your bag and all of your personal belongings. After what probably felt like an eternity to Mitch, his bag was the LAST one off the plane. I can't help but chuckle a little bit as I write this. Poor guy. Haha.
It was evening time when we finally arrived at our hotel and we were both a little exhausted from a travel day filled with flying through storms, missing flights and luggage anxiety. We both threw on our bathing suits, grabbed a beer and walked down to the beach where we caught the most gorgeous orange and pink sunset. Ahhh finally we were in paradise. The softest white sand in between our toes, we decided its never too late for a swim. I'll never forget that first night there, I was so excited to be what felt like heaven on earth.
This is where it gets good: The next day we spent all day on the beach relaxing and enjoying tropical cocktails. We even met a couple on their honeymoon that were so fun. We spent hours talking to them and getting to know them. We hit it off right away, exchanged phone numbers and made plans to see more of each other. Meeting this couple turned out to be Mitch's lucky ticket! Mitch originally planned to pay the hotel photographer $400 USD to take a few, yes just a few photos of the proposal he had planned for later that evening. Instead, while I was showering to get ready for our sunset stroll before our dinner, Mitch snuck into my phone and retrieved the couple's phone number and texted them on his phone. He messaged the couple informing them of his proposal plan and asking if they wouldn't mind helping take some photos. Of course being fresh newlyweds, they were very excited to help. Mitch told them our plans of going to the beach bar, grabbing a cocktail and walking the beach at sunset. All of these plans were actually made by me! Again, Mitch getting very lucky. There are few things I like more than beaches and sunsets so I asked Mitch if he would want to walk the beach at sunset before dinner. I asked Mitch what dress I should wear, and for the first time I actually listened to him and I am so glad I did. It was perfect for the occasion. Since it was so beautiful outside (it ended up being the most evening we experienced while we were there), I naturally grabbed my camera hoping to get just one nice photo of us. Little did I know what we would end up capturing. To the beach bar we go. We order out cocktails and to my knowledge, we "run into" the couple we met. I was excited and asked them if they wanted to join us on the beach for drinks.. again, making it so easy on Mitch! Of course they quickly agreed. And off we went on a walk that would change our lives.
Okay this is actually the good part: We walked down beach in what felt like a painting. So many colors of oranges, pinks and blues. I took a photo of our new friends and then it was our turn to take a photo:
I love this photo because you can see Mitch holding the ring box in his pocket. He later revealed to me that he was holding it in his waist band the whole time walking around because he didn't want me to see the box in his pocket. Right after this photo I remember saying, "okay I think that's a good one." Thinking we were done taking photos. That's when Mitch said, "actually theres something I have been planning." He dropped to one knee and that is when I realized what was happening. He completely took my breath away and as you can tell, I freaked out:
Mitch did so well. He was so calm, sweet and said all the right things. I pretty much blacked out during all of this but I do remember him saying something around the lines of "Monica, you're my best friend." (black out...) "I want to spend the rest of my life with you." (black out...) a few other things and then the big question, "Will you marry me?"
I was still in shock and didn't even say yes! I just kept saying "no way, are you serious, oh my gosh" over and over until Mitch had to say, "is that a yes?" And of course it was! I finally pulled it together to say that simple but meaningful word, "YES!!"
Never in my life have I had such a big smile on my face with tears running down my cheeks at the same time. I truly have never been so happy that I cried, until then. Mitch asked me why I was crying and I had no idea, I said "I don't know, I'm just so happy!" Even now typing this brings tears of joy to my eyes. There are definitely moments in time that will forever stand out in your lifetime. This is for sure one of those moments for me. Even though some of it is hazy from being overwhelmed, I will never forget that moment.
Of course after I had to sit down and ask him a million questions. He never plans anything without my help. I was so proud of all the effort he put into making this perfect for me. He knows me so well and makes me so happy everyday. He even put reminders in his phone to get a haircut and trim his beard two weeks before our trip because it would have grown out to the perfect length that I like it by then. Seriously, how did I get so lucky?
We went to a fancy steak dinner afterward where neither of us could eat. We were both just so excited. We FaceTimed our families and Mitch wanted to post on social media right away. Poor guy had been keeping a secret long enough and was ready to scream it from the rooftops. Surprisingly I wanted to take the night to just have our family and us know. Well, I of course texted my best friend as well. But it was such a fun and special night to celebrate and not let the whole world know just yet. We spent the night drinking cocktails with our new friends, who did AMAZING at capturing the proposal for us, and having other guests of the hotel come up to us congratulating us saying they saw us on the beach.
I smiled all night and couldn't even tell you when we went to sleep because it all felt like a dream. Every single detail about the proposal was perfect. I would not change one thing.
Details
Location: Melia All Inclusive Resort, Nassau, Bahamas. https://www.melia.com/en/hotels/bahamas/nassau/melia-nassau-beach/index.html
Ring: Custom designed by Mitch with Lauren B Jewelry in New York, New York. https://www.laurenbjewelry.com
Elongated cushion center stone, double halo, double edge halo (this is where the diamonds wrap along the side of the halo), 3 row pave (diamonds wrapped completely along the setting with zero metal showing).
I received many questions about my setting as it is unique. I told Mitch that I wanted something that was unique and very sparkly. He totally deliver and I am so lucky. My advice to the ladies that have asked me about it is, make sure you truly love this setting before committing as it is just as expensive as a center stone.
Here is the video they sent Mitch when production of the ring was finished:
Dress: Hello Molly- they are no longer selling the exact same dress but I have linked a similar one from them. https://www.hellomolly.com/us/dresses/maxi/mermaid-hotel-maxi-dress-white.html