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When Brad from Shaking Hands Productions (he’s a fabulous Virginia-based videographer, go have a look!) emailed me with his proposal story, I knew I had to share it with you.  While Brad’s girlfriend Lyndsey was modeling for one of his videos Brad surprised her by proposing and Adam Miller caught the moment on video.   I teared up watching!

My proposal to Lyndsey from Shaking Hands Productions on Vimeo.

Tim Gosnell was on hand to take photos of the proposal - I adore the shocked look on Lyndsey’s face.

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Mr. had a hard time with the fact that I did NOT want a diamond. He thought I was only trying to be nice and “settling” for an aquamarine since a diamond was too expensive. Not at all. I completely trusted his judgment on what he wanted to spend. Even if I could have any ring in the world, regardless of price, I would *still* choose an aqua. Aside from the fact that I love the color, I love having something a little bit different, and it means a lot to me that my aunt has an aqua engagement ring as well. Finally I was able to convince him and I’m so happy with the final product!

{ photo by me }

It’s certainly not traditional, but it seems like it’s not as unusual as I had originally thought. Ever since we got engaged, I have noticed blue engagement rings all over the place!

Liz Taylor and Princess Diana had one? According to Issue 10 of Wedding Style Guide…

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Ed Note: I’m so excited to welcome Christina from Pretty Bride to EAD to recap her fabulous Louisville wedding for us!  Ya’ll are going to love reading her posts this week and be so inspired by what she pulled together!

First of all, I am so excited and honored to be given the opportunity to recap my wedding planning process for Elizabeth Anne Designs.  I have had a wedding blog since April, 2007 and EAD is such an inspiration to all!

My name is Christina and I am originally from the Louisville, KY area (Southern Indiana).  I started Pretty Bride while working as an Event Planner for an NBA team with dreams of one day planning weddings.  In August 2008, my love, Matt, proposed.  Three weeks later, we relocated from North Jersey to Memphis, TN where he now works for the Memphis Grizzlies.  In the midst of planning my own wedding, I got a job as an Event Planner for a catering, floral and design company.  Planning our July 25, 2009 wedding in Louisville, KY from Memphis added more of a challenge to the process, but it was nothing we couldn’t handle!

Below is a photo of us the night we got engaged.  We have now been married for two months and have enjoyed every second of it.  I am so excited to get to relive our wedding process while sharing with EAD readers!

Hi everyone! I’m thrilled to be among the fantastic group of women on EAD who have documented their respective journeys down the aisle. You might already know a bit of my wedding story if you followed my wedding blog Eat, Drink, Marry, which I began shortly after our engagement and continued through our wedding over Memorial Day weekend. During our planning process, I relished the opportunity to tap into the bounty of inspiration and knowledge out there in the wedding blogosphere, through EAD and other great blogs out there. Now that the wedding’s over, I have a new home on the web: The Freckled Citizen. Old habits die hard, though – my new blog just happens to be designed in our wedding colors and oops, I posted a wedding photo just the other day! On to the fun details, then!

I’m originally from North Carolina and have bounced around for various degrees over the last decade (going to school is something I’m really good at, it turns out): Boston for six years, then New Mexico for five. Both cities brought out my love for place, culture, and politics. One night in Albuquerque, I met a cute campaign worker named Trevor in a bar and proceeded to engage him in the sort of feisty debate that I felt certain he desperately needed (he had that “in need of a challenge” look about him that night… know the one I mean, ladies?). By the time the bar closed, Trevor was either going to kiss me or never speak to me again, and luckily for both of us, he kissed me. On a street corner. With teenagers speeding by yelling at us to get a room. A Modern American Love Story, really.

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OMG what a whirlwind trip to Michigan-I know you didn’t think that Michigan could be associated with the word whirlwind but for me it does!

I had such an AMAZING trip. I love being back home, and being with all of the people who know me the best, and I can be completely myself with, because most of these people I have known my entire life. I have one friend and bridesmaid who I have been friends with sine Kindergarten- now not many people can say that!

My soon to be bridesmaids threw Phil and I a fantastic Engagement party- it was so great! My friend Kylee and her husband Mike were the gracious hosts. They had everything set up, from incorporating our wedding colors into everything, great food, drinks, and of course the company!

Kylee had everyone bring a bottle of wine, and write a message to Phil and I on the bottle. It was such a great idea! Lugging the bottles back to California was not a problem at all! I put most of them in my luggage, and left some bottles for my mom to ship (or drink, lol). The girls also planned a pre-newlywed game, in which Phil and I had to answer questions about each other- some of the questions are things we have not thought about in awhile (first movie you saw together, and some other funny ones) So it was a super fun game!

This party was so fantastic. I was so overcome with emotion that I cried a few times. One of those times being when I saw my friend Sarah (see above mention friend since Kindergarten) who flew all of the way from Texas. This was a total surprise, and the sheer generosity of all of it was way too much for this emotional girl to handle! Also, Melissa my only other fellow California girl flew out for the event- wow I have some amazing friends!

The party was also the night of my 30th Birthday (yes- 30! I guess I am considered an old maid bride) So Kylee went all out with a Birthday cake with the Big 3-0 written on it, which I again proceeded to cry due to the emotion of it all.

All in all this night was so special to Phil and me. I cannot thank all of my friends enough for putting it together.

Every winter for the past few years, Brian and I take a mini-vacation to the mountains for a long weekend. This all started because Brian is a professional baseball player and it is impossible to shop for a person that lives out of a suitcase for six to eight months of the year. I was worried that whatever I got he would either feel forced to carry around with him or have to leave behind during the season. Thus the tradition of not getting physical presents for each other, but rather doing a shared trip as a present began.

This past winter, we decided to take a long weekend in the Tennessee Smokies. We rented a cabin and decided to bring our pup Chambers along for the trip. I had an inkling that this might be “the” weekend, but once Saturday rolled around, I had completely forgotten about it. Brian suggested we get up early and go on a hike that morning to a waterfall he found through internet research. He said it would be seven miles roundtrip, but after a few hours of hiking uphill on only a powerbar we happened to grab on our way to the trailhead, I was convinced that he had tricked me into hiking back to North Carolina.

We finally reached the waterfall, The Grotto, and it was totally worth all the hard work - it was beautiful. When we got there, I immediately took out my camera and started snapping away, not paying any attention to Brian who had all of a sudden gotten very quiet. I turned around to find him on one knee and the rest I have zero recollection of (except the sheer joy I felt).

Here are some pictures from our trip:

First some waterfall pictures:

(it’s called the Grotto because you can walk behind it when the rocks below aren’t covered with ice, obviously)

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As I mentioned in my previous post, Mr. popped the question while we were in Spain. We split our 10 days there between Madrid, Sevilla, and Barcelona. Now, I’m not saying that I thought he was going to propose, and I’m certainly not saying that I didn’t think he was going to propose, but I think it’s better to tell this story if I go back and think about everything that must have been going on in his head while we were there. So, just know that I wasn’t evilly plotting and trying to throw wrenches in his plan…they did that all by themselves.

The first concern of the trip: ring transport. I guess he was worried about someone stealing it from his checked luggage but he also didn’t want to take a chance and have me see it while going through security (man, that would have been a romantic place to propose) and he and my uncle even went so far as to research how difficult it would be to overnight my ring to the friend we were staying with in Madrid. In the end, he just decided to keep it in his carryon and make sure I just wasn’t looking at his x-ray. All the while, I was oblivious. Just excited to go to Spain!

I found out later that all along his plan was to propose in the gardens of the Alcazar as soon as we got to Sevilla (my absolute favorite place in the whole world). This is where we hit wrench #1. We arrived in Sevilla on a Monday and the Alcazar is closed on Mondays. Again, I didn’t mind because I was oblivious, but apparently Mr. was pretty frustrated and really just wanted to ask so he could stop worrying about losing the ring. So, Tuesday morning comes along and we’re ready to hit the gardens, only there’s a line at least 100 yards long and there is NO way I was going to stand in that line. So although he resisted, we decided to go to a couple other places I wanted to take him and then we’d return to the gardens later. The whole time we were walking around, he kept asking questions like, “So are the royal gardens prettier than this?” “When are we going to go to the gardens?” or “are you ready to go to the gardens now?” I was really enjoying our morning stroll and liked that we were taking our time seeing the sights, sitting down under pretty trees, sipping granizadas, people watching, and I wasn’t in any hurry to stand in line with a bunch of other tourists to visit the gardens during peak hours. So, was it weird that he kept asking all these questions when it seemed perfectly fine to me that we were taking our time? Sorta…but what seemed even more weird is how Mr. refused to take off his jacket and it was about 83 degrees.

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Ed Note: I’m so excited to introduce another blogger to the EAD crew - Juel!  I know you’re going to love her as much as I do.  And now, I’ll let her talk!…

What better introduction than an alliteration? My 4th grade Language Arts teacher would be proud! (Thanks Mrs. Royer)

I wasn’t engaged when I discovered wedding blogs, but then again, was anyone?? I had requested an aquamarine engagement ring so Mr. asked that I show him ideas of what I would like. So, off to Google I went! One of my searches linked me to the EAD blog, opening up a whole new world of inspiration while at the same time drastically decreasing the amount of time I spent on work I needed to do in the real world. One link led to another and soon after, I had subscribed to about 40 blogs and had even created my own blogger account…all thanks to EAD!

Of course, I couldn’t actually post anything on my blog until I was engaged, right? So I patiently waited…but not for long ☺
Mr. and I met in April 2007. My mom and I were planning a move to PA and it just so happens that Mr. lived in the town where we were planning on moving. So, knowing our situation, a mutual friend set us up and we hit it off right away.

Fast-forward to this past April. He is a music teacher, I was finishing up my student teaching, and we were able to line up our Spring Breaks and vacation days in order to take a trip to Spain. As an undergrad I was a dance major and fell in love with Flamenco. After I graduated, I decided to save up all my money after working for a few years and move to Sevilla, Spain to study Flamenco. Living there was a dream come true! It was an amazing experience and I really wanted Mr. to see the place that I had loved so much and that had been so influential on my life.

{ Photo of dancer Eva Yerbabuena from UC Berkeley }

Now while I didn’t know for certain that he’d propose when we were there, we had picked out a ring in December so I was pretty certain that he’d be proposing soon, I just didn’t know when and where. He ended up asking me to marry him in my most favorite place in the whole entire world!! The gardens of the Alcazar in Sevilla.

{ photo taken by random German tourist }

Can you believe that the photo cuts off RIGHT before my engagement ring?? Ugh.

Anyway, I am very excited to be blogging here at EAD! I’ll be posting about all my favorite finds, ideas, projects, and inspiration for our July 2010 wedding and definitely am looking forward to any other ideas or feedback. I hope you enjoy!

In Part 1 of the proposal we had just seen some pretty fish at Birch Aquarium and were just leaving dinner at Spread, happy and full and ready for our third stop on the itinerary! After about 20 minutes, we arrived here:

[Well, okay, it didn't REALLY look like this, it was dark, but this is what it looks like in the daytime. :) Voila! The Hotel del Coronado! It is rumored to be haunted, which depending on what type of person you are, is either cool or creepy.]

3. Getting Engaged on the Beach at Hotel Del

It was very warm for January, so we grabbed some ice cream and took a walk on the beach. And while we were walking under the moonlight holding hands, he told me had something to ask me, and that’s when he actually got down on one knee! I don’t remember what he said exactly, but I remember saying “Of course!”

It was a very happy and private moment between the two of us.

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One day back in January…

Him: Hey, you should pack a bag for the weekend, because we’re going somewhere.

Me: Why where are we going?

Him: I can’t tell you, it’s a surprise.

Me: Well if I don’t know, how do I know what to pack?

Him: Um…just bring two sets of clothes.

Me: Are we going somewhere nice? Do I need a dress? What about a bathing suit?

Him: Um….no? I don’t know? Yes? Just bring both. And don’t forget your cell phone charger.

And this is how the conversation started off our proposal weekend, which, despite not being a total deer in headlights surprise, was still a very fun and romantic weekend in San Diego!

The boy planned four activities for us. First on the itinerary…

1. Birch Aquarium

What can I say, I’m a museums and aquariums geek. He knows me too well. And I LOVE leafy sea dragons! When they swim in between the leaves, I think “heeey where did they go???”

This was a beautiful aquarium, and it was fun to explore and read about all the sea creatures. I recommend it for anyone visiting La Jolla, it’s a fun date spot!

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Alright on with the engagement story shall we?  Well it started with a Valentine’s Day card last year in which Lance had written, “Don’t you think its time to start ring shopping?”….which led to a trip to a jewelry store to try on different rings …and me finally deciding on what I liked.  Then the wait began.  This really didn’t bother me actually, I guess in my mind we already were engaged in a way, the sparkly ring was just an added bonus to come.

So fast forward to October…the morning of my 26th birthday in fact.  Since we shared one car and worked at the same place, Lance and I had a pre-work morning routine that would always get us out the door no later than 7:30am.  Lance would shower while I lazily laid in bed till the last possible second….then I would shower as Lance started making breakfast…the usual scrambled eggs and toast.  (I should mention that this happens EVERY morning…not just on my birthday…hands off ladies he’s MINE!)  Nothing out of the ordinary really.  We usually exchanged gifts first thing on our Bdays so the stack of  gifts on the counter as i came out for breakfast were somewhat expected.  But then Lance said, “you have one more gift but you’ll have to find it first.”

So instantly I started scanning the room looking for something obvious…a new shirt hanging up perhaps, maybe a picture of us framed somewhere….yeah well I was way off.  Checking the clock I realized I didn’t have time to “be messing around”…so I just went back to the room to finish getting ready.

Sidenote:  While all this is going on our cat Nori is being slightly more annoying than usual…jumping up on the counter…constantly in my personal space…just really extra needy for attention.

ok back to the story…so there I am just trying to get ready as fast as I can…I mean I already wasted about 15mins of this perfectly-timed-out-routine I have running around the apt looking for who knows what…when I catch a glimpse of something sparkly hanging from Nori’s collar as she’s sitting in the window.  I quickly go over to investigate ….its a ring.  and not just any ring….a beautiful princess cut diamond ring.  I screamed a little…Lance ran in…and got down on his knee (I was already on mine as it turns out)…and then asked me to marry him.  After thinking about it for 20 mins…..haha j/k…of course I said YES right away!

You see…the entire time Nori was just trying to get my attention….she knew she had an important job that morning!  Its funny when I think about the times I kept pushing Nori away and picking her up off the counter and not once did I suspect anything.  I got Nori when we first lived in Salt Lake.  She was my BFF after Lance moved to Virginia and later made the journey with me when I made the move, so she is very much a part of our relationship and I love that Lance included her.  So you wanna see a pic of the ring?

(this was my attempt at being artsy when I got my new camera)

Well there you have it!  An engagement story that included my birthday, our cat Nori, and a beautiful diamond ring!

I never thought it would feel this good.  Frankly - I was worried I would be disappointed.  After all the years of lusting after this ring, and months of waiting for it, I thought - for sure - I would feel a twinge of disappointment once I put it on (a twinge I was ready to hide for the rest of my life).  Contrary to my suspicions, I’ve literally been weak in the knees and downright dizzy when looking at my shiny new ring bling.  Nothing, and I mean NOTHING – not even my mangled finger – could dampen my mood when I look at it on my finger.  It feel so attached to it already, I’ve had to give it a name, Ringo.  And Ringo is the most beautiful (material) thing I have ever laid eyes on in my entire life.

My fiancé proposed with a placement ring in January since he was worried about bringing valuables when he visited me in Africa.  We picked out the ring together when I got back in March.  Since then, I’ve been happily engaged and planning our wedding and didn’t really feel anything missing.  But Friday I nearly fainted like a Disney damsel in distress when I put the ring on for the first time.  Since then I have had a mile perma-grin on my face that cannot be erased.

Both of us were in Chicago last weekend for our engagement party (another blog entry coming up).   The morning of the party, after meeting with our DOC (another blog entry coming up),  we took a walk to the place near where we first kissed and he got down on one knee for the second time this year and asked me, “Do you still want to marry me?” -  a loaded question after you’ve been engaged to someone for 6 months and seen their transformations.  I feel like I should have been asking him, “You sure you still want to marry me!?”

Frankly, I feel lucky and relieved that my man still wants to marry me :) And he and Ringo was the truly worth the wait.

Showing off Ringo to friends for the very first time

Me and Ringo writing this blog entry