Today, David and I are celebrating our first year of engagement! I can’t believe that exactly one year ago today, he got down on one knee and asked to me to spend the rest of my life with him. Not that I thought this would never happen, I just didn’t expect it…at all! And when he pulled out that beautiful ring, it totally sealed the deal <3
To celebrate this wonderful occasion, I thought I would share our engagement story with you all and let you know what is up next for us on this amazing journey together.
Celebrating our engagement anniversary yesterday!
The Plan
So let me say upfront that I was completely shocked when David proposed. I knew that we would be together eventually, but he kept everything under wraps so well that I didn’t even suspect a thing. And it’s hard to get things past me; I can always pick up on when something is going to happen or can feel when something is off.
On the evening before he proposed, David became super adamant about going on a picnic the next day. I’m always down to go on a picnic, and I just thought David wanted to just get outside and use our ginormous picnic basket that we recently purchased at the time.
Of course, I can’t go on a picnic and eat whatever food, I have to make it special. So on Saturday morning, we did lots of running around to buy fresh bread, fruit, cheese and charcuterie. We must have gone to 4 or 5 places, and David kept his cool the whole time, even though he was dying inside! When we got home, I made some fancy sandwiches, washed up the fruit and packed the drinks while David packed his camera equipment. David always brings his camera gear whenever we go out, so I thought this was just a totally normal outing.
We drove over to Saxe Point park in Esquimalt for our picnic. If you live in the Greater Victoria area and have never been there, you have to check it out. It’s a super relaxing spot right on the ocean with some gardens and lots of green grass to sit on. When we arrived, there was actually a wedding that was getting ready to begin! So we sat and watched the whole wedding while we ate our sandwiches, which was incredibly sweet.
Making the Move
After the wedding party cleared out, another one was waiting to come in, so this was David’s time to make his move. He nonchalantly said that he wanted to set up his tripod to take some pictures of us on the picnic, since we don’t have too many nice photos of us together (other than selfies). Once again, this was somewhat normal so I just went along with it. Once he set up his camera, he told me that he needed to switch then lens, and went directly to his backpack. I bet you know what happened next…
While I was in my own world looking at the seagulls further down in the park, I felt him come up right beside me, so I turned around and there he was. At first, I had no idea what he was doing or why he was so close to me when we had this huge picnic blanket. Then, I looked down and saw the ring box and him smiling from ear to ear and everything clicked. I immediately whimpered “David! What are you doing?” and then just started crying. I was so surprised that I thought I was dreaming and that none of this was real. I was bawling my eyes out as I hugged and kissed him over and over again. Once I calmed down a bit, he put the ring on my finger and then I burst into tears again. Haha! Once I calmed down the second time, he explained how he had all this planned for the past five months! Again, I had ZERO idea that he had done all of this and I was surprised at how well he kept this whole thing a secret!
And It’s All Captured on Video…
Oh, and let’s not forget about the camera that was set up! While I thought we were just taking a picture, David actually had it on video to record the whole thing! Even though it is basically a 10 minute video of me crying, I am so happy to have that special moment captured forever and ever. Everytime I watch it, I get that same feeling of complete shock, excitement and love. I know that even when I watch this when we are old and wrinkly, those feelings will never ever change. <3
What’s Next
As we have been engaged for a year now, we are just continuing to just enjoy our time together in our new home. To be honest, I really have been enjoying having a longer engagement. I think that this time is extremely special and that there is no rush to get into things. You can take time to just be carefree and in love, without any expectations. I think that there is a greater expectation that once you’re married, there’s pressure to buy a house and have kids. We know we want all that one day, but we aren’t in too much of a rush!
Additionally, one of the benefits of having a longer engagement is that there is more time to plan your wedding! I don’t know how some people get engaged and married all in the same year. I would be freaking out, but to each their own!
So far, we have picked our date as well as our venue. We are getting married in the fall of 2020 at Villa Eyrie Resort. I’m not telling you guys the actual date as I don’t want any wedding crashers 😛 You guys have seen Villa Eyrie Resort all over my Instagram stories before, and you will have probably seen my article on Villa Eyrie Resort on Edible Vancouver Island’s website. It’s such a beautiful venue and completely fits with both our personalities. I can’t wait to be standing there with David on our special day!
