Hello readers!
Yesterday, March 6th, marked 2 years since Hubs proposed to me. I've decided to share our engagement story - AKA, Hub's ultimate surprise. He totally blindsided me. I've decided to share an entry from our wedding website so you can hear it from a his-and-her perspective. Enjoy!
TJ's story
I was becoming antsy about a proposal, but I didn't want Hubs to feel pressured or coerced. I tried to remain cool, but every once in a while I'd give him the side eye or make a smart remark about getting engaged. Little did I know he already had a plan in the works. He had one of his friends, Erin, pump me for information about engagement rings. I thought we were having girl talk, but she was collecting data!
In March 2011, we were SICK and TIRED of the cold weather. Hubs suggested we go to California to get away. We planned to hang out in San Francisco and go to Napa for wine tasting. It was romantic, fun, and a great getaway from the winter weather in the East. On the last day of our trip, Hubs arranged for us to take some photos. I was excited because I had been telling Hubs that we needed some nice pictures. It was a rainy San Francisco afternoon, but we didn't let that deter us. We met our photographer at San Francisco City Hall and managed to even work our umbrellas into the shoot. Hubs asked me if I could think of anything that would make our trip any better. In the back of my mind I was thinking "a proposal," but I wouldn't allow myself to say it. We finished the photo shoot with no proposal, and I was glad that I hadn't mentioned it. A couple of my favorite pre-proposal shots:
![]() |
Somebody asked me where these pictures staged. Look at that face. Does that look staged to you? |
![]() |
Thank goodness for the seat! |
The ending of The Sixth Sense, Darth Vader’s revelation at the end of Empire Strikes Back, and finding out the identity of Keyser Soze had nothing on the surprise proposal I planned for TJ one March afternoon in San Francisco. I had known for a long time that TJ was "the one," and I wanted to plan a proposal that showed her how special she was to me.
The plan was put in motion back in May 2010 during a dinner with some of my friends I used to teach with, Dana and Erin. During dinner I had them talk to TJ about whether I had started any wedding talk (which I hadn’t). During that conversation, they discussed what kind of ring TJ wanted as Erin took detailed mental notes. After a debriefing with Erin it was time for the first part of the plan, which was buying her engagement ring. Erin was very instrumental during this time going with me to jewelry shops and helping me navigate the 4C’s. I felt the ring I purchased had everything TJ had envisioned as the perfect ring (and a little extra by yours truly).
![]() |
This pic does the ring no justice. Hubs showed out!!! Had I known I was gonna meet this little beauty, I would have gotten my nails done :-/. He asked me if I wanted to, but I missed the cue! |
Next, I asked myself how I would pull off the proposal. Those that know me would say I have a thing for the theatrics. Some of the ideas included renting a theater to show our favorite movie, Up (Damn you, Pixar, and your strict copyright laws!), and doing it during a concert (Since we both love music so much). These plans posed two problems; first, while I wanted to do something big, I know TJ doesn’t like to be the center of attention. Second, how would I record this event for our family and friends? During the attempt at renting a movie theater, I thought of having someone take photos of the event to catch everything. I decided to plan a whole engagement photo shoot that TJ didn’t know was an engagement photo shoot. TJ & I had both talked about doing a photo shoot, so the idea was already in place. I decided to do it in San Francisco since it was known for being such a beautiful city. Prior to flying out there, I contacted a number of photographers before settling with Jean Philippe (JP) Dobrin. We decided to take the photographs on the last day of our trip outside of City Hall.
The trip was wonderful including massages at the spa, wine tasting in Napa, and a trip to the Museum of Modern Art. We concluded the trip with our photo shoot. The surprise was almost ruined by an early gift of Champagne from hotel staff. Luckily I answered the door and shooed them away. I can tell you that I’ve never been more nervous than I was that afternoon. Towards the end of the shoot, I gave JP the signal, and everything goes pretty blank for me after that. The next thing I remember was seeing the look of joy in TJ’s eyes and celebrating with a toast.
Until next time . . . I'll be over here reminiscing.
No comments:
Post a Comment