I said YES!!!

I'm so excited to announce that yesterday I got engaged!  Marshall completely surprised me and the day was just perfect.  

The Lead Up...

Okay, I need to start this story off by giving a little background, because if I don't it will seem silly that I was actually surprised.  Well, you'll see.  So, a while back I was talking to Marshall telling him how I thought we should go for a picnic, but that I really didn't want to plan it.  I just wanted to go somewhere, bring sandwiches and sit by the water.  He agreed and said that the next time I was in RI we should do so and that he would just get some stuff so we could go one day after work for dinner.  

Towards the beginning of the week, he told me not to make any plans for Thursday, so I agreed and didn't ask any questions because I just figured we'd be going for our picnic dinner.  He also informed me he'd be taking a half day at work.  Okay, that's normal, he takes half days a lot while I'm in RI visiting, so that wasn't anything out of the ordinary.  He never said what we were doing Thursday, I just assumed it would be our picnic, didn't ask any more questions and left it at that.  

The Proposal!

Thursday rolled around, Marshall got up, showered, and ready for work and left.  I got up and edited photos, took a shower and got ready for the day.  Around 11:40 Marshall came home saying his boss let him leave early since he took half a day and to just use his lunch hour.  Again, not that uncommon, so I didn't think anything of it.  He also showed up with a bouquet of beautiful flowers (coral colored roses, yellow mums, daisies, and a few other various flowers that I have no idea what they are).   AGAIN, this isn't that uncommon, Marshall has bought me flowers just because on other occasions.  

After I finish getting ready, we get in the car and start driving to an unknown location.  I didn't want to ask questions because I wanted to be surprised as to where we were going.  The direction we were headed seemed like we were going to Goddard Park, a place we've had multiple picnics before.  He made a pit stop and picked up food he placed and order for, so I thought "awesome!  We aren't having sandwiches, he decided to order something tasty!"  Our drive continues and we pass Goddard Park.  "Okay, so we didn't go there," I thought,"I wonder where the heck we're going."  We finally arrive at our destination- Beavertail State Park!   

As we got out of the car, Marshall popped open the trunk and it was FILLED with fantastic items for a picnic!  A blanket, picnic basket, cooler and even his acoustic guitar.  He leads me over to a spot through the woods that opens into a thicket area surrounded by trees and hedges overlooking a rocking shore line and the ocean.  Okay, that was enough for me, I was sold.  GORGEOUS!  The sky was bright blue with giant puffy while clouds, a cool breeze was blowing making the tall reeds by the water rustle, and the temperature was just perfect (around the high 70s to low 80s).  We spread out the blanket, and he starts getting out all the tasty food... I mean, there was a TON of tasty food, I had no idea!  What he had picked up on our way was sushi (oh so tasty, and I had been craving it) and he also had cheese (brie, chavrie, and cheddar from NZ), a baguette, crackers, grapes, Edible Arrangements chocolate dipped fruit, and a bottle of wine from NZ as well. He brought wine glasses, plates, silverware, napkins, you name it, he had it. We stuffed our faces with the delicious food and enjoyed the surroundings since there was really no one else around except for the odd person here or there passing through.

After eating, Marsh got out his guitar and started strumming a few little things, not playing anything specific, but it was nice just hearing him play around on it. I stood up to get a picture of him sitting there playing and as I was about to take a picture... HE PULLED OUT A BOX AND GOT ON ONE KNEE! He asked me to marry him and my response was "Omg, are you serious" HAHA! (He's been laughing at me for that one since I said it yesterday). Of course once I actually realized what was happening I said YES!!!

I seriously could not have asked for a more perfect day or a more perfect guy. He put so much thought into the entire day, more than I could ever ask for! On our ride home, he even had a music mix he put together full of "love" songs by bands I love... what a guy!

His Planning

When I said he planned, I wasn't lying. He researched rings meticulously, learning about diamonds online, going to jewelers to look at them under microscopes, and finding a jeweler that sold conflict free diamonds since that's something important to me.

After he settled on a ring, he researched the perfect location. He and his father (as well as his dog Zane) went out scouting for spots and when they found this one, he knew it was THE spot. For the picnic, he got some of my favs, the sushi, choc. dipped fruit and brie cheese, mmmm. For the wine, he researched what kind would go best with sushi and found one from New Zealand (since NZ holds a special place in our hearts).

With the help from his mother, he got all the things for the picnic (the basket, blanket, etc). I just couldn't believe he even made a music mix! I mean, come on, how thoughtful was that!

The little liar didn't even go to work yesterday! He got all dressed and ready and made it look like he was going, but in reality he was heading out to pick up all the food and stop at his parents house to pick up the ring and hide it in his guitar case. Everything was concealed in the trunk so I had no idea he did all that until we got to Beavertail.

The Ring

My ring, oh goodness MY RING! It's beautiful, prettier than I ever imagined. It's a solitaire cushion cut stone (my fav!) in a gorgeous setting that has an antique feel to it. I'm glad I never have to take it off! Oh, and it fits perfectly thanks to him working with my mom when it came to the size I needed.

Anyway, about this "conflict free" thing I mentioned earlier. Marsh knew it was something important to me, so he did a lot of research and decided to go with Brilliant Earth . They get all of their diamonds from socially responsible practices with no great human or environmental cost. All of the precious metals used in their jewelry is recycled, making it that much more eco-friendly. Even the box it comes from is made from hand crafted Rimu wood sourced from a sustainably harvested New Zealand forest (oh look, New Zealand again!)

It's a ring I feel good about wearing and since Marshall knows me so well, he knew it was important to me and I am so thankful he thought of that when purchasing a ring for me.

Soooo, sorry about that INSANELY long entry, there was just so much to say. I had the most wonderful day because of the most amazing guy and I'm so thankful to call him my fiance. And thanks to all the wonderful people I know for all the kind congratulations, I appreciate it beyond words!