My hope with this blog is to share the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of wedding planning and the adventure that is happily ever after. Our chance to be vulnerable and real with you, and the opportunity to share any tips and tricks we discover along the way.
So. Obviously this is a wedding blog. Might as well start with how we got on the path to a wedding in the first place: the engagements. Yes, you read that correctly. Engagements, plural. We each proposed to the other on separate occasions. Let's start with Emily's engagement.
From the moment I knew that I wanted to marry her, I knew that there was no place I would rather pop the question than at Walt Disney World. This was our place, a place that we enjoyed together and the place where I fell in love with her for the first time. So, we planned a trip for August 2016 during her break between summer and fall classes. We ended up with a 4-day whirlwind trip with enough magic to last a lifetime.
Speaking of magic...Disney is really good at sneaking magic in when you least expect it. Really, really good at it; almost to a fault. While booking the trip, I needed to know a few details about park operations to make my proposal plan operate flawlessly. I mentioned to the Cast Member that we would be getting engaged on this trip, and she made a note of it on our account. While I expected to be handed some free "Just Engaged!" buttons at check, I had no idea that WDW was implementing new ways to recognize guest celebrations.
When we arrived for our first day in the parks at Hollywood Studios, I touched my MagicBand to the entrance kiosk. Normally, the Mickey on the poles glows green if you have access granted; mine glowed hot pink. I was caught off guard, worried that something had happened to our tickets and that I wouldn't be able to get in to the park. The CM greeting us smiled and said, "everyone has something to celebrate! Enjoy your day!" I was confused, but I let it go.
Later that day, we scan in to Tower of Terror for our Fast Pass. This time, the Mickey glowed rainbow and started playing music.
CM: Congratulations!
Me: (utterly confused) On what?
CM: On your engagement!
Suddenly, it made sense why my MagicBand was showing different colors. Disney knew we were getting engaged, and the colors told the CMs what to celebrate with us. I panicked, turning to Emily to see if she had been paying attention. She shot me a puzzled look, but we were able to shrug it off. At least she had a pretty good idea of what was coming on this trip, so the surprise wasn't totally ruined. I still had the timeline on my side.
Fast forward a couple of days, and we set off to enjoy the day at the Magic Kingdom. We had scored early-morning reservations for breakfast at Be Our Guest, so we would be in the park before most other guests. I knew this would be perfect--we'd stop at a PhotoPass CM on Main Street and get the whole thing captured right in front of the castle without a thousand other people photo-bombing the shots.
We were running a little late because of busses, but I said to Emily, as we were hurrying through the park, that we should stop to gather a few pictures while Main Street was empty. She agreed to take the risk of being a few minutes late for our reservation. I slyly mentioned to the CM what was about to happen as we moved to pose for our photos. After he took the few traditional shots, he asked, "Are there any special shots you'd like me to get?" signaling me that he was ready.
I chose this spot in particular because of its placement in front of the castle, near the Tinkerbell fly line. The first time Em and I came to WDW just the two of us, I fell in love with the wonder in her eyes and child-like glow that found her when Tinkerbell flew from the castle to light the sky with fireworks. I even came prepared by painting her ring box with a small sparkling Tinkerbell.
Through a lot of happy tears, laughs, and endless smiles, I managed to ask her to make all my dreams come true with a little bit of pixie dust (her ring). And, obviously, she said yes! The people behind us in line for photos started cheering, and another guest walking by shouted "Oh my god! They just got engaged!" We spent the rest of the day enjoying the Most Magical Place on Earth blissful with each others company. We even managed to snag a couple of the discontinued "Just Engaged" buttons that our resort still had a small stash of.
When we got back to Cville, Emily got right to work searching for rings for me. She found this local artist/jeweler on the Historic Downtown Mall that made this super-unique bands that were everything I could dream of. As soon as they came in, she whisked me off to the car. We drove about a half an hour, and she refused to tell me where we were going. Eventually, we pulled up to one of our favorite places in Cville, Hilltop Berry Farm and Winery.
We stopped at Hilltop on our first visit to Cville when Emily interviewed at UVA. We fell in love with the fruit plants and vineyards surrounding the tiny tasting house, with the whole property nestled at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains. They have rocking chairs on their porch, and Emily told me on that first visit, that she wanted nothing more out of life that to enjoy each other in moments and places just like that.
So, naturally, we enjoyed a tasting and a few snacks that Emily had packed in those very same rocking chairs. She reminded me of the conversation we had on our first visit, and then asked me to officially spend our lives just like that. It was one of the most special moments of my entire life.
Fast forward to today, and we're 642 days away to our Most Magical Day on Earth. I know--it sounds like forever when you put a number on it. But we're enjoying every day as it comes and savoring every moment we have planning our Happily Ever After.
-L
Love you two!
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