We're ENGAGED!!!

Images Courtesy of Brittany Cook Photography

I can’t believe we’ve been engaged for a whole month…

It was the weekend of graduation from Virginia Tech, so excitement was already high, and so were emotions! Our families stayed at Mountain Lake Lodge in cabins next to each other, so the plan was that there would be a more formal dinner one night, and then a more casual, “VT themed”, dinner the next. Everyone was getting ready for the more formal dinner on Friday night, and some of our friends had even come up to the Lodge to join. About 20 minutes before dinner was supposed to start, Evan calls me in a panic from his family’s cabin saying that we needed to run to the store to get steak sauce because his mom had forgotten it.

If you know me, you know I’m a planner. Even if I don’t plan things out loud or with other people, I have to make a plan for myself to be able to get things done, and in turn this has made me pretty good at it. So logistically, in my head, it made absolutely no sense to go all the way down the mountain to the store to get steak sauce. The trip would probably end up taking at least an hour round trip, which would make us about 45 minutes late for dinner, and why would we want to be 45 minutes late to an event pretty much centered around us?!

Well, eventually after much convincing of how absolutely necessary this steak sauce was, I reluctantly agreed to go with Evan to the store. About 10 minutes into the drive, Evan starts mentioning that he can hear a rock in the back tire, and at the next possible place to pull over, we should check to make sure it wouldn’t end up being a problem. Conveniently, this happened to be one of the first places we ever had a picnic.

Evan got out of the car to check on the tire, and asked that I come take a look as well. After confirming that I didn’t see any rock, he magically pulled a picnic basket out of the back seat and said, “surprise! Change of plans. We’re having a picnic!” Now again, remember my logistics brain? Well I again started to question him about how late this was going to make us, but he eventually convinced me to just go along with it.

We got onto the overlook, and that’s when I KNEW for sure that it was happening. Now I’m not going to lie, I was definitely a little bit suspicious up until this point, but I was trying to avoid thinking about it just in case I was making it up in my head. But once we actually got onto the overlook platform, Evan started talking about the beginning of our relationship, how far we’ve come, and what he dreamt about in the future. At that point I was so excited, I honestly don’t even remember the rest of what he said… except that he wanted us to stand by each other through everything life throws our way.

After a minute or two of processing everything, hugging, and squealing, the photographer, Brittany Cook, came over to take some more pictures, and then we headed back to the lodge, to take some more photos before going back to the cabins. Brittany was a delight to work with, and guided us through photos while also capturing the giddiness and excitement we were both feeling.

Then it was time for dinner back at the cabins with our friends and family, where we showed up to find a surprise engagement party set up for us! Everything was decorated in Tiffany blue, white, and gold, and absolutely beautiful. Our moms worked together to plan everything, and that made it all the more special! Complete with a Bundt cake from Nothing But Bundt (which is one of my all time favorite desserts), champagne, and flower arrangements made by my sister, the party was absolutely stunning. Having all of our friends and family there to celebrate with us after such a huge life milestone was such an incredibly special experience, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Evan and I are so excited to work through life together, and I can’t wait for all that’s in store! We have put a bit of a hold on wedding planning, to enjoy the phase of engagement, but don’t worry, I’m so excited to share that entire process! We’re planning on a longer engagement, so we have time to thoughtfully think through details, and because Evan’s sister, Cali, is getting married in November, and we want to celebrate her and Connor and their next steps together! Wedding planning will begin shortly though, so stay tuned!