Wedding Recap: Engagement Story

Through the years of dating, Mark and I didn't talk about getting engaged all that often.  I always tried to hold back from mentioning it because Tyler always told me not to nag Mark about it.  I really only remember one occasion where we were having a conversation about getting married and I shared my one biggest wish for my engagement...that it was NOT in public.  I can be extremely shy and do not like having attention on me (that surprises some people since I used to dance in front of 60,000 people, but make me give a speech or God forbid roleplay in front of a class and I’m probably going to cry!)  I truly believe if I got engaged in a public place with people watching me I would've had a full-blown panic attack.  Thank goodness he chose to listen then because our engagement was absolutely perfect! 

I'll be honest - I thought it was coming a few weeks before it actually happened.  On a Friday night in November, Mark told me that the next day that he was going to take me to Main Street in Grapevine for wine tasting.  He said we should get "dressed up" (which I don't think I'd ever heard Mark say – if you know Mark…you understand) - that totally set me off.  I just KNEW it was coming!  The whole time I was getting ready, I was so excited/nervous/happy - I was on my way to become an engaged woman!

Welp...a few glasses of wine later, we were off to meet the Applegate family at Mi Dia for dinner.  While I love the Applegates - they didn’t necessarily fit into my engagement plan. I drowned my sorrows in a margarita (or four).  The day was great, but no engagement…

I had several weird engagement dreams nightmares after that day, including one where Mark proposed with a ring that was black plastic with tiny mirrors on it. I was just so embarrassed.  I told one of my best friends, Erin, and it became a running joke between us.  However, it honestly sparked a little worry in me.  Mark and I didn't discuss rings (and let’s just say that Mark and I don’t always share the same tastes in fashion) – that morning I said a little prayer that Mark discussed rings with my mom or my friends to get a little guidance. (I tried to find a picture of what I imagined said black plastic mirror ring looking like, but unfortunately fortunately these aren't common...)

On December 8, 2013, my mom and I spent the day at North Park wrapping up Christmas shopping.  I was so worn out (if you've ever gone to North Park at Christmas time, you know what I am talking about and well now we know what was really going on…) so Mark said he'd pick up the ingredients to make a recipe we’d recently seen on Pinterest.  We had a great time making dinner together while watching the Heisman Trophy presentation.   While I was setting the table, Mark told me he was running out to the truck to grab the bottle of wine he picked up.  He casually sat it on the counter for me to open and this is what I saw…

I was so shocked!  When I looked over, he was waiting on bended knee and asked me to be his wife!  It was without a doubt one of the best moments of my life.  The bottle of wine was one of the wines we had really enjoyed on that Saturday afternoon wine tasting in November.  And to make it even better, he had bought an entire case so that we could have a bottle to celebrate special occasions and anniversaries.  We had so much fun calling friends and family that I took maybe 2 bites of the meal we had just cooked! 

I was so surprised – I did not see it coming at all.  I mean – if I had, I’d probably have changed out of my jeans and sweatshirt and looked a little cuter.  But looking back, I definitely realize that Mark was acting a little nervous throughout the night.  He kept asking me to stop watching the Heisman Trophy presentation and come help in cook.  I asked if he could just hold on til it was over! Bless his heart…I was probably driving him crazy!

To top off the night, Mark told me I needed to change out of my jeans and sweatshirt because our friends were waiting to celebrate with us at the Glass Cactus.  We stopped by my parent’s house first (my dad was crying when I walked in – so sweet!) to have a champagne toast with them and their friends and then it was off to celebrate!  I think I spilled champagne on just about every one of my friends that night. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking – my heart was just overflowing.

And don’t worry – I didn’t end up with the mirror ring (that was the first thing Erin asked)!  Mark did amazing!  He designed the ring with a private jeweler and I love, love, love it.