Most girls have a wonderfully romantic engagement story about how their boyfriend’s proposed. I am NOT that girl.
Alex and I had dated a year before we got engaged. We knew pretty early on that we were meant for each other and had talked before about what kind of wedding we wanted to have, how many guests we’d invite, etc, etc…
I had suspected he would propose around our 1 year anniversary. As that date drew closer and closer, the signs the proposal was coming grew bigger and bigger.
When trying to figure out how to best celebrate our anniversary, we had decided to go to Sir Winston’s Restaurant on the RMS Queen Mary. (Important side note, my husband has had a life long obsession with ships, particularly the Titanic. No, not the movie. The actual ship. On his kindergarten report card there was a note from the teacher that said, “Alex sure loves to talk, especially about the Titanic!”)
While dating, the Queen had quickly become one of our favorite date spots. Alex loved to explore the history and there were some delicious restaurants on board, so we thought it would be the perfect place for us to celebrate.
A few weeks before we went my mom started asking me what I was going to wear to dinner and let me tell you: she and Alex were WAY too concerned about what I was wearing. Clue number one!
Another time, Alex went to get his second tattoo (Titanic related…), and asked me to text his friend Kim saying he was getting another tattoo. Previously, Kim, her boyfriend Dane, Alex and I had all gone together when Kim and Alex got their first tattoos, so he had to tell her he was getting another. I accidentally saw a text he had sent to her about ring shopping…OOPS!
I played it off pretty well and pretended I didn’t see anything, but I think deep down Alex knew I saw.
At the time I was still working in a salon and I had been telling my coworkers that I was pretty sure I was going to be getting engaged that weekend. I left the salon that Saturday before our dinner and yelled, “Next time you see me, I’ll be engaged!”
Cut to Tuesday, October 11th, 2016. After getting ready at my place, I drove to meet Alex at my parent’s place. Walking to my car, I get in, and he said, “Oh, I forgot my phone! Hold on,” and runs back inside.
I was thinking, “Ok, he just went to go grab the ring.” I ruin all the fun, I know… We live in Escondido so the drive to the Queen Mary in Long Beach is about an hour. On the drive up his suit jacket started to bother him and I said, “Why don’t you take it off?” Nope. Can’t risk me seeing the ring!
Our reservations were at 7pm and we arrived fairly early, so we sat in the lobby for a little bit. The whole time we are sitting there Alex is on his phone looking down and texting. I could see the nerves on his face.
I asked him who he is texting, and he said Kim. I asked why and he said she had a question about PHOTOGRAPHY of all things. I was like “Why in the world does Kim need your help?!” Kim then proceeds to call him and he said “Kim is calling me I’ll be right back.” Super short phone call and he comes back not acting like himself. He then comes back to the chair and looks straight down at his phone texting again and then suddenly again says, “Hold I need to call Kim.” So smooth…
As if he couldn’t get anymore obvious, he walks straight back to me after the phone call and says, “Let’s go to the back of ship before it gets too dark.”
So, I get up and we start walking. He is very quite and when he gets nervous he starts clearing his throat a lot. I am thinking, “Alright, I am about to get engaged!”
We get to the back, he starts his speech and in the middle of it he looks behind me and says “And our photographer is taking forever!” There were 3 people there that Kim was trying to get out of the way so she could snap some pictures. We are waiting for what seemed forever and he finally continues his speech which, I might add, was so cheesy. A line from the Titantic. “Courtney, you are the most amazingly astounding, wonderful girl-er-woman, that I’ve ever known…”
And of course, I said, “YES!”
Mind you everyone thought I was clueless! The surprise factor was a complete fail, but he did make me the happiest girl alive!
And I still am. 🙂
Learn More About Courtney Lynn Photography
Hahah! I love this soooo much. I love that he totally tried to surprise you and it didn’t work.
I was actually laughing way too hard at that. Also good job at catching those clues. When I got engaged I was wearing jeans and a sweater and had blue hair so at least you got a pretty outfit 😉
We laugh about it, too! I always give him a hard time 🙂
Courtney,
Thanks for sharing the rest of the story.