our engagement story

I can't believe it's taken me this long to write this story on here. Maybe it's because I felt like I already did. I told it on our old blog, Me & Mr. Charming, and I wrote it for our previous wedding website. And to this day, I still tell my girlfriends who ask or bring it up. But I wanted to share it here, and share our story, because as I meet more people at expos, and blog events, they all ask about Mr. Charming, which is so very kind :) 

To start I guess I should go back to how we first met. You can read all about that here. It explains how long ago I knew this man and how we got back together after nine years of not speaking. That's where our story and our journey together really starts.

My heavenly Father gets all the credit for the love story He has written for us. Never in a million years could I have written something so beautiful, and never in a million years if you would have told me at fifteen that Mr. Charming would be my future husband would I have ever believed you. 

But back to the story of our engagement. I can start this by saying I absolutely, positively had NO idea that it was coming when it did. Mr. Charming and I had been dating five years before he asked me, so I had kind of given up on the "hoping and waiting' aspect of the whole proposal thing. Not to be taken in a negative way, I hadn't "given" up on the idea, just on the getting hopeful part. Every holiday or vacation that would come all my girlfriends and family members would get in a tizzy - telling me that since it was "Christmas, my birthday, Valentine's Day, Presidents Day.... or that he was taken me to Prescott.. or Hawaii... or the grocery store.... it was so that he could PROPOSE. So, that was in no way his fault, that I decided to just let it be, and let him make that choice.

Our hotels "red carpet"

Every year we try to plan one big vacation. Something where we both take a full week to disconnect from work and home, and travel together. In 2010 we decided to make that place Disneyworld. We saved all year and in October we got a room at the Disney All Star Movie Resort for six nights and park hopper tickets for all the parks for a week. If we were going to do Disneyworld, we were gonna DO Disneyworld. We had both been once with our families, but I had never gone to Epcot and I wanted that to be the first place we went since I LOVE Europe and all things to do with world travel. 

The Food & Wine Festival was taking place the week we went, and it was right as I was getting sick (and had no idea why I was getting so sick) so we tasted... everything. 

After a wonderful flight and checking into our hotel, we got ready and headed to Epcot. It was night, and as we entered the park, Mr. Charming asked what "country" or "land" I wanted to see first. I spotted the Eiffel Tower in the back right corner of the park, and breathlessly I answered, Paris!!!!! 

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Everything was so sparkly & magical. I was starving but Mr. Charming said he wanted to set up the camera and get a picture of us on a bench in Paris. I didn't think anything of it, because we are huge photo takers when we are on vacation, ok and also when we aren't, so I let him guide me to a bench down a flowery walkway where there were no other guests. We sat down and he started to clean his camera lens, and asked if he could clean my ring for me. (he does this all the time, so I took off the ring from my ring finger and handed it over.) Except when he gave me back the ring it was a horse of a different color, as he got down on his knee and proposed with the engagement ring of my dreams. 

I was so in awe by the moment, I remember crying. I remember it stealing my breath away. And I remember the love. ALL the love I felt for this man. I felt the world fall away. I felt my prayers being answered. And I said yes without a shadow of a doubt that this man, my best friend, my Mr. Charming was my one. 

The Bench

I think one of my favorite parts of the whole story was that he had told me that he found the bench on Google Earth prior to our trip and knew exactly where he'd propose in the park. Finding a place in my favorite "country" that would be secluded, beautiful and romantic. 

After I answered the best question I've ever been asked, we got some amazing French food and I called our families. I don't think we were even off the Disney property before I found the first kiosk where I could get my newly decorated hands on a bridal magazine. 

Throughout the duration of the trip we totally became "those people" and got matching shirts made. And Mr. & Mrs. pins and anything else that screamed "I was engaged at Disneyworld"... Because. When in Disney....

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The trip was incredible and I will be documenting more of it when I cover the food finds at Disneyworld. So check back on more on our trip. 

We ended the trip with spending our last morning at the Grand Floridian Resort for our first Engagement Shoot in a hammock on the beach. To see our official engagement shoot that took place later, click here. 

 
I would love to hear your engagement story, or favorite moment from when you were asked :D Feel free to share in the comments below. I'm kind of a sucker for a good love story....