I mentioned in my Blogiversary post, that I had a few new post ideas up my sleeve. Since I started this blog two years after my wedding, I never got to share any of those fun memories here. I wanted to do this Throwback Thursday series to share a little bit more about myself so you could get to know me better. This is so much fun for me to write. Pulling out our engagement album made me so happy remembering how I felt at that moment.

After we got engaged, I wrote down our story so I wouldn’t forget any of it:

John had decided to propose during our trip to Anna Maria Island, Florida for a wedding in April 2009. This was our first long trip together and we had a lot of fun making the plans. The wedding was beautiful and we had a great time! John even mentioned to the groom that he was thinking about proposing.

Over the next month, John started researching rings. He wanted to get a ring that looked similar to a Tiffany ring that I had admired. While I was in San Diego for a friend’s wedding, John was busy going to five jewelry stores, shopping around and trying to find the perfect ring. He finally purchased a beautiful ring. John also took a trip to my parent’s house to ask my father’s permission to propose to me.

We both had 4^th of July weekend free so John planned a trip to Toledo where we would go to a MudHens game and take a trip to the Toledo Zoo to see the elephants. This was something we wanted to do for a long time and John planned the entire trip and sent me an email with all the trip details.

When I returned from San Diego I noticed that John had lost weight and I was surprised that he hadn’t spent the week partying with his friends. I had no idea that he had been worried about getting the ring on time and nervous about the proposal.

Every time John and I went on a trip or took a long weekend, one of my coworkers, would ask “Do you think he’s going to propose?” I would always laugh and say “Oh no, he’s not going to propose for a long time.” When I told her that we were going to Toledo for 4^th of July weekend she asked if I thought he would propose to me. I said “Oh no…he’s not going to propose in TOLEDO!” I had no idea that he was even thinking about proposing, I just assumed that the trip was something nice for my upcoming birthday.

On our drive down to Toledo I spent the whole trip talking about weddings and what I would do if we ever got married. I told him that my coworker had asked me if I thought he would propose on our trip and told him “I said, oh no, he wouldn’t propose in TOLEDO!” I even suggested a song that we should play as we were entering our reception. I was reading US magazine which happened to be Kendra’s wedding album and I kept running my mouth about weddings, weddings, weddings. I also saw an ad for a shirt that said “He put a ring on it” and thought that was hilarious. The whole time not knowing that John had a ring in his suitcase.

When we got to the Crowne Plaza and walked into our room I was so surprised! It was a beautiful room with a river view and we would have a great view of the fireworks later in the evening. When we walked in I said “This is pretty nice! I guess you could propose in TOLEDO!”

We had a few drinks before the game and while I was admiring the view, John retrieved the ring from his suitcase. When I turned around he started telling me how important I was to him and how much he loved me and then he got down on one knee to propose. I thought he was joking because of all the comments I had made throughout the day. I told him to be serious. I didn’t realize he was actually proposing until he presented me with a beautiful ring and asked me to marry him. I almost fell over before saying yes!

I took a few pictures in the hotel before the proposal, and I think this captures it perfectly. He must have been so nervous at this point because he proposed about two minutes after this photo:

After the proposal, we had tickets to the Toledo Mudhens game and we could not stop smiling.

 The next day, I wanted to walk down by the river and take a few photos to commemorate the occasion:

Then we headed off to the zoo and had some fun with ring pictures:

Since we went to see the elephants, we had to get this picture:

This was the most wonderful trip and one of the best weekends of my life. In the morning at breakfast, before the zoo, we made a lot of wedding decisions about what we both wanted. I remember walking around the zoo just beaming the whole time…I was on cloud nine!

We had a blast telling all of our family and friends that we were engaged over the following week. When we officially announced our engagement on social media, I shared this picture:

I hope this gave you a little peak into who I am. I am a romantic at heart and would love to hear your engagement stories, whether they are recent or from years ago!