HOW WE MET
Chris and I were ALSO set up on a blind date! I had never been on a blind date before so was open to the idea but very nervous about how awkward it might be! On the other hand, Chris had been on multiple blind dates in the past, all train wrecks, so he took a little more convincing. Our mutual friend finally convinced him when she told him "I am going to introduce you to someone and change your life forever". She did. After a surprisingly not awkward double date at the bowling alley, Chris asked me on our first official date (unsupervised) to a southern bistro named Mozelles. After that dinner we both knew we had found something special in each other.
THE PROPOSAL
Chris asked me to meet him at his house on Friday, February 15th, 2013 for our usual after work dinner.( You might notice that this date is the day AFTER Valentine’s day) Our proposal story really begins on Valentine’s Day, because Chris was going over-the-top at being completely wonderful that day... I was convinced he was going to propose! However, months before, when Chris and I were discussing our future I had specifically said, “Please don’t propose on Valentine’s day”. At the time, I thought it seemed a bit cheesy to double up on the Hallmark holiday. I digress...For dinner on Valentine’s Day Chris would not tell me where we were going. As he parked the car he said “Back to where it all began...”, we had pulled up in front of Mozelles, where our first date had been. I had a swoon-worthy moment, we had not been back since our first date, all of my memories from that day came rushing in. The dinner was perfect, we were seated next to an adorable couple, 50 years our senior, who were so chatty (which we both loved) and told us of all of their travel and adventures through marriage. Chris kept saying romantic things to me like “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you” and I thought for sure, about ten times, that he was about to drop down on his knee. Needless to say, he did not. At the end of the night I rationalized, “I cannot be upset, I TOLD him not to propose on Valentine’s Day”. However, he was certainly leading me on, which looking back is a bit comical.
The following night I showed up at Chris’s house promptly at 7pm. As I entered his living room, I noticed Chris had my favorite scene in one of my favorite comedy movies playing (Bridesmaids, the airplane scene) and asked if I wanted to sit down to watch the movie. Of course I obliged, after all it was the airplane scene! After about two minutes of sitting, Chris stood up and stated in an unsteady voice "I forgot! I built a bonfire out back. Do you want to grab a drink and go outside?" (**not super smooth**) I replied with, "You forgot that you built a bonfire???" Chris responded by offering his hand to escort me off of the couch. Chris bolted straight past the drinks to the back door and when he opened it, he revealed a gorgeous scene! He had made wicker light balls, which were hanging from the various trees and a bonfire blazing in the middle of the yard. He walked me further down to where the bonfire was and almost immediately dropped down to one knee to ask, "Will you marry me?" (preceded by a bunch of other words that now are all a blur because I think I blacked out). After I said, “YES!” that would be the end of a typical engagement story, but not with this amazing man. Chris talked me out of calling any of my family, arguing that we still had dinner reservations and if I started calling people, I would not be able to stop. I pushed back, but he had a point, so I begrudgingly obliged and headed to dinner at The Spring House Restaurant in downtown Winston-Salem. We were escorted to a private room upstairs. As we were walking up the stairs I was thinking, “Geez, Chris really went all out with an intimate private room for the two of us”, but as I rounded the corner I found twenty of our closest friends and family members there to yell "Congratulations!” I still have no idea how he pulled this off. To put this in perspective, Chris’s family all traveled from Florida and Georgia, while my whole family flew from New York! It was so emotional, I cried as I hugged all of my family, friends and future family! I was in total shock. TWO huge surprises in one night!
After my emotions settled, I pulled Chris aside to tell him how amazing it was for him to get everyone to North Carolina for that special night. He told me he knew after watching my emotional roller coaster when Lou got engaged that he HAD to get everyone there. To fill you in, when Lou called me to tell me she was engaged, I was OVER THE MOON! I have always loved her fiancĂ© Blair and knew they were the perfect match, however Lou was in New York celebrating her engagement, while I was in North Carolina celebrating solo. All of my family’s neighbors gathered at my parent’s home to toast to the couple, but I was not there. I broke down to cry. I always laugh at my co-worker when she uses the phrase “F.O.M.O.” (fear of missing out), but that was what happened. I knew I was missing out on all of the excitement of Lou’s engagement and starting to plan. So then and there my amazing fiancĂ© decided that when we got engaged, my family would be there and no one would have a FOMO!
xx, Lea
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