#fiancefriday - Our Proposal Story

Hi y'all! I thought it would be a fun idea to start a little series called #fiancefriday, where I will update you on this busy but special season of engagement that Justin and I are in. We have been engaged for 2 weeks today, so this post is dedicated to our proposal story! I'm excited about this post (for obvious reasons) and I hope you enjoy a peek into such an exciting day.
I would also like to share what we have been up to these past 2 weeks in relation to wedding planning. Many thanks to some pretty great friends for capturing some photos that I will always cherish!

I'll keep this as short and sweet as I can!
 On Friday, January 30th, Justin and I dropped our dog off at my moms and we headed to Dahlonega for the New Year's weekend. We rented a cabin with some friends and we were so excited for a fun trip ahead. The only solid plans Justin and I had was to attend a NYE wedding (which was amazing), but of course he had additional plans!

We meet up with our friends for lunch, and then the group decided that the girls go ahead and check-in at the cabin while the boys finished grocery shopping for the weekend. I was pretty much told that was the plan and so I went with it- us girls got to the cabin and we started taking pictures and checking our cute place out! I didn't think this was strange in any way that we were having a little photo shoot- complete with putting on makeup and painting our nails! (My friends Christine and Marah obviously knew what they were doing here.)

Once the boys got there, Justin and his friend Jake disappeared into the woods. I again didn't find this strange, I just figured they were off exploring since I knew there was a river behind our cabin. I finished painting my nails, and the boys had called and told us to come down to the river to "check it out."

I wasn't wearing the best shoes to walk in (I even thought about not going- my nails weren't even dry yet!) but I'm glad I did. Once down by the river bank, I see this cool rock overlooking the river. Justin was already standing out on it, and my only thought was to take some pictures of the river with my phone. I suddenly started piecing things together- none of our friends were out on the rock with us. They were all in different areas on the bank with cameras. Justin started rubbing my back and he started talking in a nervous tone. I quickly put my phone up and tried to wrap my head around what was happening!

Before I knew it, Justin was down on one knee! He said some nice things and all, but we both can't remember all of it! I remember keeping my face covered most of the time for two reasons: I was trying to soak it in and I was wiping tears! I remember saying I wasn't even ready to see the ring yet because I was absorbing it all! haha. I was also shaking out of my boots! But before I knew it the ring was on my finger and our friends were cheering!

Once I overcame my shock that all my friends were involved in this, we headed back up to the cabin (with about 5000 steps to climb). When we made it back up the stairs, all I was thinking about was getting some water since we pretty much had a cardio session coming back up! I was the first one to walk inside, and two of my friends were standing in the kitchen! Y'all, I screamed so loud that I didn't know who was screaming! Haha. I started crying again and, not only could I not believe they were standing there, I couldn't believe they were in on this too! 

Of course this was the best day of my life by far, and I am forever grateful for everyone that had a hand in all the planning. This obviously turned out to be a very special weekend! The following day I was in for another surprise- another one of my best friends surprised me by showing up during the middle of a wine tasting! I've never had so many surprises before and again... best weekend of my life!

Once the news was out and the congratulations were all in order, we naturally started receiving questions about a wedding date, the location, and so forth. I have known just about everything that I want in my wedding, so executing those ideas and plans is what needed to be tackled (and still does). Here is what we have done these past 2 weeks:

- Created our wedding party

- Started working/crafting up how to ask our wedding party

-Worked on our budget (Excel provides a wedding budget sheet... amazing)

-Set a date for an engagement party (family only) & created the guest list

-Created our wedding guest list

-Booked two venue tours

-Bought a wedding planner book which I LOVE
-RSVP'd for a Bridal Showcase in town @ Swoozies (!!)

I feel like we started moving pretty quickly, but we are aiming to get married this fall, which to me feels like no time at all! 2017 is shaping up to be an amazing (and busy) year and I am so looking forward to it all.

I truly hope you enjoyed reading about our journey this far. I'll be sure to continue #fiancefriday every so often throughout this process. Cheers to life, love, and one of my favorite things ever.... weddings!

- Nicole