Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Fairytale Engagement Part III

It is bittersweet to write this post today as it will be the last one surrounding our proposal day (until we get the video back) but I am still so excited for y'all to read what Joshua had up his sleeve in the last part of our adventure. 

If you're new here and have missed Part I and II, no worries! You can read them here:

Engagement Part I
Engagement Part II

So flash back to last week and part II when he sent me all around my hometown searching for my next clue. I left you hanging when he sent me the last text on my tour of Greensboro and told me to read my next clue. So without further ado, we shall continue...

We were on top of the parking deck in downtown Greensboro when Leane handed me another clue from her purse which read:


With that, we left Greensboro and I headed back to Josh's home in Winston Salem as that was where the whole adventure had started that morning! Upon arriving I was greeted by a room full of candles, my dress hanging perfectly on the door, and my very last clue waiting for me on the table:


And yes ladies, all the music he had ready to play on iTunes were "our songs" from over the years. The funny thing was that this clue said I had till 5:30 to get ready...but it was already 5:32. If you remember from Part II, we got a little behind at the dress shop so that caused the rest of the day to be pushed back. Josh had been doing a great job communicating with all his helpers that day so Kellan informed me I now had till 5:45 to get ready. Only 13 minutes but hey, I'll take it! Everyone left the house except for my little sister Kristen and she helped me get into my dress, pin my hair back, etc.

The entire time I was trying to figure out who would be coming to pick me up and I was very confused when the door bell rang and I heard a male voice. My little sister told this person I was putting my shoes on and I would be ready in a second. Once I was finally done, I walked out into the hallway and for the first time that day the waterworks flowed. Standing in the door frame was the one person that I consider to be my little brother on this earth and someone I am so fortunate God placed in my life 8 years ago at mission camp. Sweet Dylan had driven 3 hours down from college to be part of our special day and it meant the world to me that Josh had remembered to include him in this moment. After all, I joke that besides my family, I had known Dylan the longest of anyone that helped that day. What can I say? He is my "little brother". So Dylan and his wonderful girlfriend (who had driven up from Wilmington) escorted me to his car and started driving.

At first I had no clue where we were going, as I am still trying to get familiar with the area of Winston Salem, but then I saw signs and my heart smiled. Joshua had brought me back to Tanglewood Park which was where I had driven him to see Christmas Lights on what we call our first "unofficial" date. Unofficial because we both liked each other then but were too nervous to tell each other and it was not until a few days later when we both admitted it. Driving through the park I was flooded with memories of that night when I convinced Joshua to ride 2 hours with me to see the lights and how I had made him stop with me along the way to meet my family. Talk about a nerve wracking first "date"!

Dylan kept driving and driving back through the park until we pulled up at shelter number 3. It was here that the park had just constructed a brand new lake and built a new walkway over the water. Dylan gave me his arm and he walked me down the steps to this area so pictured beautifully below. It was there that Dylan left me and the last part of this story happened.

Before I left on the journey of being a Traveling Leadership Consultant, Joshua wrote me a book of poems and bound it himself. I have carried this book of poems with me in my suitcase and every time I change schools I always bring the book out to read one or two. I guess Joshua had grabbed it our of my bag the night before because well, that book was laying on the ground along with the red rose he had been promising throughout the day. The rose was marking the poem titled "Have I told you I love you lately?" and so I stood in silence reading his beautiful words to me.



It was then after I read the poem that Joshua walked down in the most handsome suit and perfect blue tie to match my dress. At first I was just so excited to see him that I could not stop smiling and even though neither one of us remember everything he said (he talked for 6 and a half minutes) the one thing that made me start crying like a baby was when he told me: "Our entire relationship has been grounded on our faith and I know for a fact, that I will never be able to love you like God loves you because he will always be your number one. However, I promise to spend my whole entire life loving you in the best way that I can and showing you that love everyday."




And of course the picture that I love the most and the moment that my best friend became my fiancé!









After I said "yes"; Kristen, Dylan, Melinda, Shelby, and Kellan all came running down from where they had been hiding screaming and giving hugs. While I thought that was the ending of our special day, Joshua had two more things up his sleeves!

We jump in the car with Dylan and Melinda to leave the park. As we are driving Joshua had them pull over at Starbucks and he ran inside. He then came out with my favorite drink and for the name they had written "Future Mrs. G_______" ekk, make my heart smile!


We then drove to a wonderful restaurant in Winston and as we walk in we hear clapping and laughter. There stood everyone who had helped with the process that day; from our families to our closest friends, Joshua had them all gather for dinner!









And that my friends, is the story of how our 11 hour adventure across the state ended with the proposal of my dreams!

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19 comments:

  1. I've been waiting to hear the ending since last week and this is seriously precious. They thought he put behind the proposal is so, so sweet!

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  2. I have been waiting to read this all morning, searching my blogger feed to make sure I didn't miss it! This is the sweetest story ever! What an amazing man and a perfect memory or such a special day!

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  3. Ok, I am over here with tears in my eyes and goosebumps! What a perfect day!!

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  4. Just read all of these posts and my heart is SWOONING!!!! Oh my goodness what a hopeless romantic and amazing story you two have! This was wonderful to read and I loved getting to know y'all and am just so happy for you! xx.

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  5. Just when I thought I was going to be productive today I saw this post pop up :) Yay! What a great proposal! I love the fact that you ended up at Cities at the end of the day... my favorite restaurant in all of Winston!

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  6. I love all of these pictures - you look beautiful!! You've got a good man, girlfriend!!!! Looking forward to seeing the video :) :)

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  7. This is such an amazing story! He did such a wonderful job with all the little details! Truly the most thought out proposal I've ever heard of. Congrats again :-)

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  8. YAY!!! That is the best proposal I've heard about in such a long time! He did more then an amazing job. I can tell he loves you so much and to see all of these pictures are priceless. You looked beautiful and I hope you know how much God loves you for him to have put this sweet boy in your life! I can't wait to follow you along in your journey of being engaged! Ekkk I just want to squeeze you I am so happy for you girl!

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  9. This is such a great story. This is the only Engagement story on a blog that's ever made me cry! :) You've definitely got a good one and it's easy to tell how much he cares for you :)

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  10. What an amazing story! I can't wait to watch the video :)

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  11. What a wonderful story! Very much enjoyed reading about your exciting adventure! So sweet :)

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  12. I cried with each engagement post. I am over the moon thrilled for you and Josh!

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  13. What an amazing engagement story!!! That ring is beautiful! I loved doing the Hunter boots giveaway with you and becoming the newest follower of your blog! I have nominated you for the Liebster Award! If you have not already participated or not heard of it, you can find out more at my page: http://perfectlyscrubbed.blogspot.com/2014/04/liebster-award.html!
    Happy engagement and Happy Monday!

    xoxo

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  14. This is so sweet!! I love what he said about God loving you most and he'd be second. So true!

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  15. Oh my goodness so so cute! Love every second of this!

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  16. I went through all the posts to catch up to this one - amazing and so thoughtful that he planned such an amazing day for you and your families!! You have a very special guy there - but then again you already knew that!! :)

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  17. Congratulations! The proposal story is so adorable, is like the dreamed proposal, the one that every girl dreams about. Can't wait to get more updates about the wedding planning :).

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Thank you for stopping by to my little blog and sharing part of your day with me! I truly love reading comments from my readers and enjoy connecting back with you, so please feel free to leave some kind words on here and I look forward to getting to know you better!