We’re Engaged!

Wow. I can’t even believe I’m writing this post! Yes, we’ve been together for a long time and I always knew I would marry him but it still feels so surreal! After watching so many of my friends getting engaged, year after year, I had gone through all the emotions. Of course I was always happy for them but I’d be lying if I didn’t feel frustrated, jealous, annoyed, etc. at times. But I think because we waited longer, I almost felt like it would never happen you know? So this has all felt extra exciting!

It really is true what they say about timing. What might be the right time for someone else doesn’t mean it’s the right time for you. There are no rules and no set timeline life, I truly feel like this was our time and I’m so happy about it. When we talk about it, we both love our love story.

My inbox has been flooded with the best wishes and I have felt so overwhelmed with love from not only our friends and family, but you guys as well. I can’t thank you enough! You also asked some great questions so I want to answer as much as I can. You know I’m an open book!

HOW DID HE PROPOSE?

The best question of all! We were in Puerto Rico for a trip with Lucky Dog (Animal Rescue) that we extended into a vacation. Wes is half Puerto Rican so he grew up visiting the island frequently and this was our fourth trip together. We wanted to visit places we hadn’t before so we decided on the rainforest and the west coast. It was June 5th and we were moving from our Airbnb in the rainforest to our next stop, Rincon. Our Airbnb hosts recommended we take the scenic route along the coast and stop in Cabo Rojo on the way. There are these salt flats in Cabo Rojo that make the water look pink and, of course, I thought it would be the perfect Instagrammable moment, so I had to go. We arrived and, to be honest, it was quite underwhelming. But after a long day of driving, I was ready to get out of the car and get the shot. I pulled my luggage out of the trunk and changed from my bathing suit into a dress I had rented on Rent the Runway. It was blue and white and flowed really nicely so I thought it would complement the scene perfectly. After we got the shot, which I never even ended up posting because now I have better pictures in that dress, Wes mentioned this lighthouse he remembered going to as a kid. He said it had huge cliffs and should be right around the corner. I remember seeing some gorgeous cliffs on Instagram but I had no clue where they were so, hoping this was them, I agreed that we should go check it out. We parked and the walk looked so long to the top that we almost didn’t go! But it was golden hour and so we decided to go (Wes loves to tell everyone it was “golden hour,” it’s so cute!). We got to the top and it was probably one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life.

After taking some photos of me, Wes went to go ask someone to take a picture of the two of us. There weren’t many people around since it was so late in the day, so I’m thankful someone was there. The two of them started walking back towards me when I noticed the guy was clearly recording us, I instantly knew what was happening. Wes got right down on one knee and asked me to marry him! I pretty much blacked out after that, but it was the BEST. THING. EVER. He said some other sweet things of course too but I’ll keep those between just us. 🙂 It was perfect.

The video is insanely beautiful, I’ll be sharing it soon (Above is a screen shot)! I know I’ll cherish it forever and I’m so thankful to have that. My only regret is Wes went to pick me up and I was too scared we were going to fall off the cliff so I said no. LOL. I think it would have been so cute in the video but I was so anxious at the time from everything that was happening. #Fail

DID YOU KNOW?

In this exact moment? No. Because it was never even a plan to go there! Plus, when we got to the top of the cliffs all I was honestly thinking about was how are we going to get an epic shot of me up here. You know I have no shame in admitting that. On the trip though, yes. Wes and I had been ring shopping for two years and I finally decided on one right before the trip so I figured he would do it then. I was getting a little worried though when we left the rain forest and it hadn’t happened yet because I thought it was the perfect location. Of course, this was EVEN BETTER. 🙂

DID HE PICK THE RING/DID YOU SHOP TOGETHER?

Wes hasn’t really picked out anything he’s given me since maybe our first year of dating. I’m very obnoxious about gifts and I always pick out what I get. So, no. Plus, after dating for so long I just felt like I should get to pick my own ring ya know? In true Natalie form, I was super obnoxious and I changed my mind A LOT. This is partly why it took so long. I wanted an oval at first but then I tried them on and realized they didn’t look good on me. Then I thought maybe an emerald but also didn’t look great on me and you have to go really big because they tend to look on the smaller side. Round is super popular right now so I really wanted to try and get something different but it just looked so good on my hand and I love how sparkly round diamonds are. At the last minute I thought I wanted an elongated radiant diamond so I made our jeweler ship one in for me to see which I then immediately ruled out when I tried it on. So round it was! Of course I would have been happy with anything though if he didn’t let me pick, but I’m thankful he did. Just having this special thing that he gave me to wear everyday is the BEST.

RING DETAILS PLEASE!

We had my ring made at May’s Jewelers (in Tyson’s) and I really loved the experience there. They are a family owned and operated business and they came highly recommended. I was being super particular and they were really accommodating, which was important for me. There’s nothing worse than an annoyed sales person, you know? May’s is also great because they have an amazing return policy (May’s and Nordstrom are where it’s at). Basically, you can turn in your ring at any time and get the exact amount you paid to use towards an upgrade.

My ring is a solitaire, round diamond, set in a 6-prong, 18K yellow gold setting. I love the way the 6 prongs keep the round shape of the diamond, versus 4 which can make it look a little more square. And, you know I’m a total gold girl, so I went with all gold. Even though many will recommend silver prongs, to help reduce the chance of the diamond looking yellow, I still opted to go with all gold because it’s just my style. I asked for a whisper thin band as well and it’s one dimension all the way around.

WAS HE NERVOUS?

Not at all! He’s usually the shyer one between the two of us but our roles were totally reversed. I feel like I was so awkward and he was so cool and calm and he confident. I was super impressed.

WHAT TOOK SO LONG?

Oh how I loath this question, haha. But – I totally get it and I would want to know too. I think it goes back to what I was saying before, there’s really no set timeline that works for everyone. Wes and I talked about marriage for years, probably since we were in our early twenties. Back then we were living together, Wes was getting his MBA and working full time, I had just started taking my blog more seriously. Getting married just wasn’t a top priority. Also, as silly as it sounds, time flies. I would set these deadlines in my head for him and then that time would have passed and I wouldn’t have even noticed.

I mean then there’s also the fact that relationships are just hard. There have definitely been times I think we both questioned things. We’ve been together for SO long, through so many different life stages. You change so much in your twenties. While we’ve gone through many different stages in our relationship, our love always remained very strong. If anything, it’s only gotten stronger and deeper as time has gone on. I think we both always knew we would be together forever, whether we decided to get married or not.

Wes isn’t a huge fan of the whole wedding situation. For a while I didn’t think I was either. But in the past couple of years I really felt like I needed a commitment. I realized I definitely wanted children and I wanted us to be married first, mainly for legal reasons. Thoughts started running through my mind, what if something happens to one of us, will the other even be allowed in the hospital room if we’re not married? Adulting is the worst isn’t it. Anyways, long story short, I finally put the pressure on and it came at a time where he was ready too. I never wanted to rush things, I wanted it to feel right for us, and I’m so glad because this was our time. After he proposed, he said nothing ever felt so right and he wished he had done it sooner. 😉

ARE YOU EXCITED OR NERVOUS FOR WEDDING PLANNING?

I get REALLY excited when I think about all of our friends and family getting together to celebrate, but all of the wedding-y things don’t excite me. I know, I’m such a buzz kill. Table settings, name cards, chairs, etc. – I don’t really have any interest in choosing all of that kind of stuff, or even having it for that matter. I want our wedding will be super simple, like us. But, I promise, I’m still going to have fun with it and I’m excited to share the process with you guys along the way as I put together what my idea of the perfect wedding looks like, to Wes & I! And, of course, I’m most excited for dress shopping. 🙂

Thank you again for all of your well wishes and outpouring of love. It’s such an amazing feeling to be able to share this special moment with people who are rooting for you. I’m so, so, so happy. Love you guys! xx