I’m Engaged! How He Popped the Question

Hello friends! I’m back from the most magical European vacation and if you’ve been following along on Instagram, you know I have some BIG news to share… after over four wonderful years of dating, Bay and I are officially engaged!

First off, I can’t begin to share how thankful I am for each and every one of you who has passed along your congratulations and sweet words of celebration. We were overwhelmed with the tremendous outpouring of love from you all on Instagram and Facebook and feel blessed to be able to share this special moment with so many of you.

We just received the rest of our impromptu engagement photos from the talented Sasha Lannier this morning so I figured it was the perfect time to share how exactly this all came to be.

Our proposal story has multiple parts and I have to give Bay major kudos for keeping this a surprise for the longest time!

Part 1: The Christmas Gift

Last Christmas I received the most wonderful gift from Bay — two first class tickets to London, scheduled for April 2018. We had been talking about going on an overseas vacation for a couple years, so I could not be more thrilled that he had set it in motion for us. The plan was to spend a few days in London, take the ferry to Normandy to spend a few days enjoying the history and French countryside before finally training to Paris. We had originally thought of adding in a trip to Champagne as well but ended up keeping it to the 3 locations in order to prevent too many days of travel.

Part 2: The Secret Plan

Without my knowledge, Bay made reservations for the 2nd night of our trip at Chez Bruce, a Michelin-starred restaurant in London. He did eventually tell me we were going there for dinner but not until he had already called the manager to let them in on his plan to propose while there. He also happened to call a London florist to arrange for a large bouquet of roses to be delivered to the restaurant before we arrived. Once everything was set, all Bay had to do was hope he could get the ring through security without me noticing.

Part 3: The Big Night

After a blissful day romping around London, Bay and I headed back to our hotel to get ready for dinner. I slipped on a little black dress (c/o Banana Republic) and Bay put on a nice button down and jacket. When we arrived at Chez Bruce, the manager came to greet us before the waiter kindly showed us to our table. We opted for the chef’s tasting menu with wine pairing, which basically involved 6 delicious meals each paired with a specific wine that was presented to us by their sommelier.

After a wonderful three hour dinner, the manager asked us if we’d like to go see their private room on the 2nd floor because it had “the best view.” We walked up the steps (my heart pounding because at this point I knew something was up), rounded the corner into the room, saw the roses sitting on a table surrounded by lit candles… and I immediately started crying. Bay said some lovely things which I’ll leave between the two of us, got down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him.

I said yes.

I can not say enough about how wonderful the staff was at Chez Bruce for helping make our night so incredibly special. If you’re in London or plan to visit, I highly recommend booking a reservation there!

Part 4: The Reveal

After telling our families and a few of our closest friends, Bay and I decided to enjoy the rest of the trip without making any kind of announcement. It’s not that we weren’t excited to share it with the world, we just really loved how special it was that we were in Europe together as a newly engaged couple and we wanted to devote as much of that time to each other.

A few days after the proposal I reached out to a photographer on Instagram who was based in Paris and specialized in engagement photos. I knew the chances of a last minute session being available were super slim but I figured hey, why not try? Turns out he was booked solid but was super kind enough to refer me to Sasha who happened to have a last minute cancellation. Voila! Suddenly we had a mini engagement shoot on the books for April 18th at the famous Trocadero Square right in the heart of the City of Love.

And now there’s not much more to say other than Bay and I are extremely happy and my heart is so full. I’ll of course be in wedding planning mode for the next year and will share a few snippets of that along the way, if that’s something you’re interested in seeing. 😉

Until then, sending you all our love.