So…I’m sure that after my last post you have all been sitting around your kitchen tables chatting with your friends taking wagers about exactly how it happened, the engagement that is. Well, I’ve made you all wait long enough so here ya go – the story of how this girl went from being just a girlfriend to being a bride.

To understand our proposal story you first have to understand a little about us BP**:

As I’ve mentioned, before we ever started dating, Colin was my best friend. I would regularly call Colin at the end of a hectic day at work and say, “Let’s go to the Fort (The Fort Brady Hotel) for a drink.”

If you know Colin and me, you will not be surprised to hear that this “drink” would typically result in us closing the bar. This being said, the Fort holds a special place in our relationship…I say (although I think Colin finds it embarrassing), that the Fort is where we fell in love.

THE PROPOSAL

Now, our anniversary is December 25, 2007, and this particular day was our 2 1/3 year anniversary. Don’t worry, we don’t typically celebrate such things (which should’ve made me somewhat suspicious), but Colin picked me up from church and mentioned that it was the 25th and we should go to the Fort and grab a quick drink to celebrate. I, knowing Colin, just assumed he wanted an excuse to get a beer. So, we went to the Fort and sat down to have a drink.

I noticed a man in the corner with a video camera and pointed him out to Colin, but we couldn’t really tell what he was doing. After chatting for awhile we realized that this man was drawing caricatures. Now, I should tell you that we have from time to time in our relationship encountered caricature artists at carnivals and fairs, and I have asked Colin to have one done with me. His typical response is, “No, they’re dumb.” However, when the man came over to ask us if we wanted a caricature, this time I was resistant. Colin had told me that he only had enough cash for one drink, so I was worried that this was going to cost something. But when I heard the word free, I was in.

We sat there and chatted while the man drew us. He wouldn’t let us see what he was drawing until the end. So, when he asked if we were ready to see it I said I wasn’t sure…I was afraid of what he would have exaggerated, but none the less he turned it around. It was a picture of Colin down on his knee with a bubble saying, “Will you marry me?”

I immediately began to cry repeating over and over, “Are you serious?” Colin said something, I can’t remember what, I just remember him grabbing my face and saying, “Please say yes.” Which I obviously did.

Later I found out that he had asked my dad two months before asking me. He had been sneaking around (and getting in trouble for being out so late) with his best friend ring shopping. AND he had already planned our engagement party for the next weekend. It was the perfect proposal! His only mistake was letting me know how good he is at keeping secrets from me.

Side Note – I never even looked at the ring until we were out of the bar and on our way to my mom’s house. Since then I have looked at it exactly 1,894,759 times.

Yours,

The Bride

*Engagement Day

**Before Proposal