Who Do Ya Love Wednesday - Guest Blogger #1 Brie

I am so excited to bring this new series of guest bloggers to you guys - I hope that you will find some new & fun bloggers to follow! This is going to be a 6 week series initially so each Wednesday I'm featuring a new gal. I decided to call it "Who Do Ya Love Wednesday" because I have really connected with each of these first 6 and grown to love them. awww!

First up is Brie from Recipe for a Beautiful Life - She and I met through a SITS girls challenge, and I honestly feel like we would be such great friends in real life. I know you will love her just as much as I do! Enjoy!

Hi Pink Growl readers! I'm Brie, and I blog over at Recipe for a Beautiful Life. I want to thank Nikki for giving me the opportunity to do a guest blog post for her! We have become great blogger friends and I hope one day we can have a blogger rendezvous in real life! I’m betting we’d have a blast!

I was so excited to hear about Nikki’s engagement, which she told you all about here, and it got me reminiscing about my own wonderful engagement story!

B proposed over Labor Day weekend of 2009. We had been dating for about 13 months at the time. When we met, we were both at stressful points in our lives. B had just moved to the DC area and was getting settled into his new command (he’s in the Navy). I was starting grad school and an internship (that turned into a full-time job). In the months that followed, B was often away for training, all over the country, sometimes for a month at time. I started working full-time while still getting my master’s degree full-time at night. It was a crazy schedule for both of us, but somehow the relationship just worked. After about 6 months together I knew he was the one. I knew he was the reason all those other dates had failed. He was the reason nothing else felt right. He was the reason God had left some prayers unanswered.

As the summer of 2009 wound down, B and I were preparing to face our biggest relationship challenge to date: he was deploying to Iraq for seven months. We had talked marriage, I knew how we felt about each other, and we were already living together, but B had voiced concerns about getting engaged before he left. He didn’t want it to be rushed or forced just because he was leaving (or for it to be perceived that way). I understood his point, but of course I secretly (and sometimes not so secretly) wanted it to happen.

At the end of August we went on a trip to Siesta Key on Florida’s Gulf Coast. It was our last little hoorah before he had to leave. I thought if a proposal was going to happen maybe it would be while on a fabulous vacation. No proposal came, and though disappointed, I was really ok with it. I resigned myself to the fact that it would happen after we came through the deployment just as in love and stronger than ever.

Happily unengaged Summer 2009

Labor Day weekend was crazy for me. I was working for a MLB team at the time and had to work all weekend. When Sunday afternoon rolled around, and I finally got off, I had worked probably about 12 days straight. I was tired. I was cranky (and sweaty from running around outside all day for work). We had plans to go to my parent’s home to have a BBQ and so Bill could say his goodbyes (did I mention he was leaving in 5 days?!). When I checked the traffic, after work, and saw red going through Annapolis and over the Bay Bridge to where my parents lived, I was none too thrilled. For a split second considered bailing on the visit. Thankfully my rational mind won over and we set out.

When we arrived, I immediately knew it was the right decision. My parents live on the water and the gorgeous scenery just has a way of washing away your stresses. The weather was beautiful that day, and we played croquet and sipped on my Dad’s famous Mai Thais. I was already in heaven (at least when I didn’t think about the impending deployment). We went about our merry day and I suspected nothing. A few times I came back from being inside or walked into the kitchen to find Bill spiritedly speaking with my Mom or Dad, but since Bill is very close with my parents, it didn’t seem strange.

Just before dinner, I was sitting on the patio helping my mom shuck corn. B came from the house and told me we should walk down to the water to “see jumping fish” my Dad had (supposedly) told him about. Now this may seem weird to some people (jumping fish??), but if you know my parents, and how enamored they are with all the wildlife around their home, it would not strike you as out of character. “Ok, sure” I said. We made the short trek down across their huge backyard to the dock. B held my hand as we walked and I thought about how wonderful the day was turning out. The sun was getting low in the sky and illuminated the water and trees around the shore. We sat on the bench, on the pier, and I stared out across the water, to my left. B started telling me how much he loved me and I caught him, on my right, moving out of the corner of my eye. It wasn’t till he said my name twice that I turned to find him down on one knee holding a diamond ring. This part is a little blurry, but apparently I asked “are you serious?” about five times. Of course I followed that up with a big “yes!” We took a few minutes to enjoy the moment and let it all sink in. When we walked back up to the house I was the happiest I had ever felt. My parents, knowing what was going on, had called my sister and she joined us to celebrate and toast with Champagne!

Since we got zero pictures from the actual proposal, B cutely reenacted it during our engagement photo shoot (I had trouble keeping a straight face!

B had picked the perfect place to propose: the place where I had grown up, surrounded, by the people I love most. I didn’t need a fancy dinner or big, public proposal. I spent many summers down on that dock and it suddenly meant even more. One year and twelve days later we got married at my parent’s home and took pictures on the dock, on the bench, where he asked me to be his wife.

Thank you again Nikki for letting me share my story! Can't wait to follow all of your wedding plans!

Isn't she so sweet? I love her enagement story and her beautiful wedding pictures! I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't think it was a serious question when asked. Make sure you go over to Brie's blog and check it out. Especially her Workout Wednesdays! :)