Being Engaged

I know I just posted about the proposal a couple of days ago, but we got engaged on January 20th, so I feel like I should write a more recent update! I figured I would write about being engaged because if you are married, you know what I am going through, and if you aren't married... well maybe you will find this helpful when you get engaged!

I started typing about my experience, and realized how boring it would probably be for most of you to read, so I decided to go with more of an ... advice list! :) Here is goes!

Things to prepare for:

1. Plan ahead: If you are having a short engagment, start looking for a venue and a photographer before you are engaged! (Those two things perticularly get booked up super quickly, especially for summer and fall weddings.)

2. Family Feud: Have you ever noticed the princess gets swept off her feet and rides off into the sunset with the prince, yet for some reason you never see their families meet? I can tell you why... it's because chances are, even though you are so in love with your fiance, your families are probably really different and often don't see things the same way! I got lucky, and although my family is straight out of the country in Tennessee, and Blake's family has never been camping and are from the big city of LA, our families actually did pretty well together!

3. Take a class: Blake and I decided to take a marriage class at church called, "Saving Your Marriage Before it Starts", if you don't take any other advice from me, please buy these books and do the workshop! Even if you aren't religous, it is so helpful!! I thought I knew everything about Blake, but this class really brought out a side of both of us we had never seen, and we really grew closer after it!

Things to cherish:

1. Family: Cherish your family, this is a super exciting/stressful/emotional time for you and your family. If your family is anything like mine, they might feel like they are losing you, which they aren't but make sure you spend the time to remind them of that. Go to drinks with your sister.. a lot, and if she happens to be in VA like mine.. well talk to her on the phone! Take the time to go golfing with your dad, and tell him how excited you are to continue golfing like this forever. Last, your mom could be really emotional about the entire subject, it's normal. Let your mom have her two cents in your wedding plans, it's worth it for her to feel included, even if she is old fashion!

2. Your last name: Cherish your last days with your last name, it's been with you forevever and then all of the sudden it changes! I have started to really appreciate signing checks with my last name!

3. The word "fiance": One of my best friends (and bridesmaid) gave me this advice when I first got engaged: call your fiance your fiance as much as you possibly can! Introduce him as your fiance, when you talk about him.. call him your fiance.  At first it is super awkward and weird and you just want to keep saying boyfriend or move right along to husband... but you only have a small window to be engaged and you should take full advantage of it!

Finally,

Things to remember:

1. IT'S ONLY ONE DAY: Everyone told me that all the time when I was first engaged, and now I know why.  Yes, it is only one day.. but chances are, just like any other girl you have dreamed of this day your entire life, and you want it to be perfect! It's so easy to get stressed out over the smallest things! When you start to feel overwhelmed, look at it from the angle of 'when I am 40, what will I remember about my wedding?' All of the sudden the small things like what vegie you are going to serve and how your bridesmaids wear their dress, really don't matter anymore!

2. Your body: Your body is your body and God made it how it is supposed to be, so leave it. I used to think I would go tanning for months before my wedding and then I would be tan and beautiful. Then I realized.. I am NEVER going to be tan, I am just going to have to accept that I am freakishly white, and lucky for me so is Blake! Another thing about your body, don't try to go on a really strict diet eight months ahead of time.. you will get burnt out after about two weeks and give up, even if you have the best bridesmaids in the world going to the gym with you every day!

3. The reason: Last, but not least, don't forget the reason you are getting married! I know it sounds so silly, but when you spend hours planning an event, and want it to be perfect, make sure you don't lose sight of the real reason you are getting married. Which hopefully is because you have found "The once in a lifetime love" - The Vow  In the end you should be a lot more excited to be married than to get married.


Well that's my take on engagment! I mean I am definately no pro, but I think I have learned a lot thus far, and I am sure I have so much more to learn!

Ohhhh. One more thing... Your fiance will probably want to help with all of the fun stuff... but when it comes to finding addresses and writing out invitations.. that's when you call your momma! :)

Hopefully you found this helpful... or histarical one or the other!

The Proposal

On January 18th, 2012, I finally turned 21! My 21st birthday came on a Wednesday, and the following Friday at 6:00 AM I got on an early flight with three of my best friends to Las Vegas! The story however, starts about a week earlier, when Blake and I were out to lunch. I was meeting him at Chipolte (his favorite place in Salt Lake to have a quick lunch), and I was almost there when I received a text from him that said, "I have some bad news."  You see Blake was supposed to be on that 6:00 AM flight to Las Vegas with me, but when I arrived at Chipolte, Blake already had his credit card out and told me he had to meet me in Vegas late on Friday night because he was going to have to work and there was no way he could get out of it. I was so sad he was going to miss out on an entire day of Vegas with us, but there was just nothing we could do about it.

So at 7:45 AM we landed in the beautiful sin city! We were all pretty tired so we went to the hotel, checked in and went to sleep for an hour or two. When we woke up we all got ready for the day and headed out to the strip.  We had some brunch, did some shopping, and then we got our make up done for the night.  Almost immediately after getting our make up done, Blake called me. He told me he had booked something for me before he found out he wasn't going to be there, and he already paid for it so I had to go! I figured it was a massage or a facial.  Blake's sister Chadney was with us and she walked us over to the nearest hotel where we got in a fancy car and headed toward the Wynn.  Little did I know, we weren't going to the Wynn, we were headed to the Stratosphere.  At this point I had figured out that I was not going in for a spa treatment after all, as there are several nice spas on the Las Vegas strip, the Stratosphere does not host one of them.

At the Stratosphere I get another phone call from my darling Blake. This time he says, "I just want you to know that I already paid for it, and I love you. My sister and your friends know where to take you." Now I knew exactly what he had bought me for my "birthday".  Two minutes later we were walking into SkyJump. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Vegas, the Stratosphere is one of the tallest hotels on the strip, and at the very top of the hotel there are a couple of rides, and the exciting opportunity to jump off of the top of the building. If you know Blake, you know what he booked for me. Yes, I was going to Jump off of the top of a very large building.

After suiting up, weighing in, saying a prayer, and taking the elevator to the very top floor (bashing on my "stupid boyfriend" the entire way), I finally got the courage to stand on the platform, and JUMP! About ten seconds, a very loud scream, a lot of laughing, and a little bit of crying later I was on the ground again.

All my friends were on the sideline clapping and laughing at me, and as I walked over to them, out from behind them came Blake.  He got on one knee and said, "After a fall like that, this shouldn't seem so scary, will you marry me?"

Talk about an adrenaline rush! I had just jumped off a building, been surprised by my cute boyfriend, and then he had asked me to marry him all within the same 15 seconds. Of course I said yes, and then I was really screaming, laughing, and a little bit of crying. I was so happy, and I still am! I can't believe I get to marry someone as amazing as Blake! :)