03/27/2010
Ladies and gentlemen, today I give you our engagement story:
It was a lovely day in March. For a couple months, I had seriously been trying to figure out if I was anywhere near ready to get engaged. We hadn't talked about it, but I had been talking with some close friends. After one date with him, I finally decided James was The One, and I was ready. (But that's another story in itself.)
On that day, we had planned to be there to witness two of our friends start dating, which is a big deal among our church family - almost as big as an engagement ; ) - and then we were going to go celebrate with them at dinner that night.
Before that, though, I got together with one of our mutual good friends and told her I was ready. I hadn't told a lot of people at this point, but I definitely wanted to get her advice. She encouraged me to be patient, but that she thought he was on the same page as me.
A few hours later, he picked me up from my house. On the way to see our friends start dating, he was acting a little funny - at one point, he told me, in a sentimental sort of way, that I was one of his best friends. I brushed it off, trying to stay patient : )
We went to a garden at his former university, where I kept looking for our friends, hoping we hadn't missed the big moment. There were some people we didn't know doing a photo shoot (they were wearing prom dresses or something), and instead of leading us away from them, James led us towards them. I felt really awkward and tried to tug him away, but we passed the photo shoot and went to a specific spot, right next to a bridge and a creek.
It was set up with little tealight candles in red paper cups, with a red blanket laid out on a boulder and a red rose on it. I remember saying, "Oh, that's so sweet! Jermaine set this up for Erin?" And then he said, "What if I told you this was for you?" And my heart dropped.
He led me to the rock and had me sit down. I noticed a couple of friends in the bushes, trying to film with a digital camera. My heart was racing and my knees felt like jello. I was shaking. If you were to watch the video, you would see me keep covering my face with my hands and brushing my hair out of my face.
James pulled out a poem he had written and read it to me. At one point in the poem, he got down on one knee, and then took out the ring and asked me to be his wife.
Of course I said yes, and then our friends came out to congratulate us, and then we walked back to the car and drove to a restaurant, where my family was waiting. They were supposed to come into town the day before, but of course they had planned to be there for the engagement. I couldn't eat a thing at the restaurant.
Then there was a small engagement party at my apartment. A few of my good friends from my school, three hours away, came to be there for the party and to spend the night.
I loved the way he planned it, I love that I was completely surprised, and I love that memory.
