ENGAGED

WE'RE ENGAGED!

That's right, folks. Steve popped the question, and I, of course, said "YES!" 

I don't think I've ever been so thrilled in my entire life. He is the most amazing man in the world and I get to spend the rest of my life loving him. I'm feeling beyond blessed right now. 

It all happened Thursday evening when Steve arrived in Grand Rapids after driving from his hometown in Ontario, Canada. He made it to my apartment before I got home from work, and called in a reservation at the Melting Pot, which is where we had our very first dinner date together. I freshened up, threw a dress on, and headed out the door with him around 7pm. We had plans to go check out ArtPrize downtown after dinner, so it was just going to be a low-key evening of walking around. Well, things changed when we were at dinner for almost 2.5 hours. When we got on the subject of weddings (because I have a ton coming up in my family), I mentioned where I had wanted to have my future wedding someday. Steve responded with "Well, I think you should book it." I quickly rolled my eyes and responded with "I'm not going to be that crazy girl that books a venue before I'm engaged."

I then continued to stuff my face full of delicious dark chocolate fondue.

...before I knew it, he was taking out a ring.

I think he had to ask me about three times before I was conscious enough to respond with a solid "YES!" I couldn't believe it was all happening. My heart was thumping, my legs were shaking, and I felt my body starting to sweat. It's all happening. 

I get to marry the man of my dreams.

It was just over one year ago that I took a trip to Nashville with my cousin Ashley and my friend Whitney. The three of us girls decided we needed a ladies weekend in a different city, so we set out to one of my favorite places in the world where I had spent much of my childhood. Tennessee has always felt like a second home to me, and I couldn't wait to bring the girls there for their first time.

It was our second evening there where everything was about to change. 

This is the photo that was taken just hours before I met the man I will soon call my husband.

Nobody saw it coming. It wasn't a 'love at first sight' type of moment. In fact, we met while we were each with a group of friends at a bar in Midtown, Nashville called Losers. We shared casual conversation and eventually exchanged information. I told him I worked in advertising in Grand Rapids, MI, and he told me he was a Canadian country singer/songwriter.

Several weeks later, he told me his plans to drive through GR on his way back to Canada. We made plans to hang out while he was passing through. We made such a strong connection and hit the ground running.
The rest is history.

Fast forward to a year later.
We had plans to get our pictures taken by two of our best friends who are working together to take amazing photos and build a portfolio. We agreed to letting them take our pictures since they wanted some couple's shots. Who knew it would be right after getting engaged?

Steve and I are so fortunate to have such amazing and talented friends. Tieka of Selective Potential and her boyfriend Eric did such an amazing job capturing our love in these amazing photos:

(side note: yes, that's the same outfit I wore the night we met in Nashville)

xoxo,
Laura