WE'RE ENGAGED STORYTIME!
My Solo Road S2 Ep3 | WE'RE ENGAGED STORYTIME
WE ARE ENGAGED! And could not be happier! Henry is back on the podcast this week to get into the engagement timeline, how it happened, how we are feeling, and more!
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INTRODUCTION
Can you believe it, WE’RE ENGAGED! I was completely surprised and we could not be happier! It really feels like one chapter closed and another opened and I’m romanticizing every moment of it. And since you’ve all been an integral part of our love story, we wanted to share everything with you as a newly engaged couple here on the podcast! From the timeline of our engagement, to how Henry picked the ring, and the weeks leading up to it, you’ll hear exactly how it happened and what’s next for our family. We also get into our parent’s engagements and how we are feeling about our new label!
THE TIMELINE OF OUR ENGAGEMENT
- We first started talking about an engagement when we were thinking about buying a house. Henry said he would feel more comfortable if we were engaged.
- Then at the end of September in a cabin in California he asked me “if I proposed to you what would you say?”
- Henry said if I had any ring ideas then I should show him. Which was weird timing because just a few days before this I had picked out a ring that I liked.
HOW HENRY PICKED THE RING
- Since I had the ring created on a website, Henry had the design in his head and as much as he wanted to impulse buy he started diving into ring research instead.
- He asked his best friend where he got his ring for his wife and they said they liked it. So he ended up speaking with a designer from NYC on a FaceTime call and I got to pick out the diamond.
- Henry wanted the ring as soon as he could so he could surprise me so he put a deposit down that day. I had no idea what was going to happen after I picked out the diamond.
- The ring took 5 weeks to be completed and then Henry had them overnight the ring to a UPS store in Moab when I was in Disney. In hopes that it wouldn’t get lost. Tip: If you ship the ring you don’t have to pay sales tax!
- I had no idea this was happening. He was talking about a package in Moab and I never thought he would ship a ring there. I was thinking that since he was going to NYC after his trip to Puerto Rico, that would be when he got the ring.
ASKING FOR MY PARENTS BLESSING
- Once he got the ring he had a few days to call my parents and ask for their blessing. That’s when his (good) nerves started kicking in. This was in the beginning of November.
- He asked Ella for her blessing beforehand to get some words out (so sweet).
- He set the tripod up and FaceTimed my parents and he had the biggest smile on. It’s a moment he will remember forever.
- He called his mom afterwards and they had a special moment.
- I get along great with his mom. We are both very similar and she makes me feel very comfortable.
THE WEEKS LEADING UP TO THE PROPOSAL
- Once he had the ring he ordered a couple options for a different box.
- The things he wanted to check off for the moment were: making sure it was a surprise, private, and on video. The element of surprise was VERY important for me.
- He was thinking of proposing in Colorado because we thought we wanted to have a house there but it wasn’t our spot. But then we said let’s go to Joshua Tree and once we said that he knew that’s where he was going to do it.
- He was going to wait for me to say something about making a reel in the coming weeks. We were taking pictures sitting in our favorite Kelty chair and we were set up for a photoshoot and he had the ring in his pocket. But it didn’t feel like the right time.
- But it’s all about creating those chances and bringing the ring along!
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first day he asked to shoot a video with him I was busy so he had to push it back a day.
- I left one day to shoot a video for a brand and once I pulled back into the campsite Ella came bolting to me and Henry asked me if we could shoot a reel around sunset for a brand.
- We got out the good Sony camera to create a slo mo video, and I didn’t think anything of it.
- We set up the tripod and Henry asked me to put an X on the ground where he was going to stand. The sun was going down so we did a practice shot and it was great.
- Before the video started, we had Ella and Finn next to us to get the 3 seconds of us walking away from the camera. And as the video starts. they run and it’s just us. That was out of sheer luck!
- His left hand goes into autopilot and reaches for the ring and there were tears in his eyes as he looked up at me.
- People were writing in quotes of what they thought I was saying…I was in complete shock. In those 3 seconds I started blacking out, my heart started pounding, and my adrenaline was going. The whole thing was blurry to both of us.
- He said “will you marry me” and I said “I didn’t even know you had that” and then eventually said yes.
- It was a magical moment but I was thinking “who knows he’s doing this?” “Does everyone know about this?” It took an hour for my adrenaline to come down.
- We walked away and called our parents but it wasn’t til later that night while we were having a campfire that I was staring at the ring and I was like wow we are engaged, the moment is done.
HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED FOR US AS AN ENGAGED COUPLE
- It immediately felt different for me which I didn’t think was going to happen. It felt like one chapter closed and a new one opened. I didn’t realize how different it would feel to be his partner.
- I knew how nervous he must have been to do it, to ask my parents, and get down on one knee. He was very nervous in the moment and afterwards he felt a crash, the endorphins going down and the high going down.
- We spent the night reflecting on the pivotal moments that brought us here from the dogs meeting, to being friends, and starting a relationship. Henry had a therapy session the next day and that’s where he processed a lot of emotions of getting engaged.
- It’s a celebration of who we were before and how our independence was an identity for us and it seems like we are on the same team even more now.
- Henry can look back on all the different transitions that brought him to this moment and we both never thought when we were younger about being a husband/wife and parents.
- Transitional moments can be scary but the things that get your heart pumping are all good things in life.
- It feels like our goals are combined and we are on the same exact page.
- Henry has more confidence to get a house together now that we are engaged.
HOW OUR PARENTS GOT ENGAGED + WHAT WE’VE LEARNED FROM THEM
- Both of our parents had unromantic engagement stories.
- Henry’s dad proposed one night because his mom didn’t want to live together if they weren’t married.
- My dad proposed when my mom was ironing her clothes in her bra and underwear and she asked if they were going to get engaged or what. So he came back downstairs and gave her the ring. My sister also had the same type of proposal where she knew it was coming. But they both love their engagement stories!
- This is why I think I wanted it to be a surprise. And I love to romanticize my life and the big moments so I can look back on them one day and remember the entire moment.
- Henry does the big life events really well but we are working on the smaller things that I have grown up with having a very chivalrous dad. I previously used to hold in these things and later resent him for it like walking ahead of me when hiking. But it’s better to be open and communicate this. Henry is very receptive and he wants to make me happy.
- For Henry, when we were thinking of buying a house it felt more natural for him to want to be engaged because that’s what his parents did.
OUR LOVE STORY + THE PROPOSAL VIDEO
- As Henry looks back at our love story he doesn’t always think he deserves it and I feel like I deserve every second of it. I believe that everyone deserves it. I try to think more positively now.
- I cannot help but think Ella recognized what was happening. She would never lay down like she did in the video. Which is my favorite part of it because I know that she’s temporary in my life. My second favorite part is the way Henry is looking at me, you can tell he loves me so much.
- Henry’s favorite part is the end where it goes blurry and we go from two into one.
WEDDING PLANS
- We both want our wedding to be representative of our journey and what we love. It might be somewhere like Joshua Tree, West Yellowstone, somewhere that’s special to us.
- We want it to be very connected to nature, somewhere where we’ll be outside all weekend, very intimate with close friends and family.
- We want people to feel like “that was so them” when they leave.
- Something adventurous, exciting, unique, and outside the box.
- We are enjoying being engaged for now and our wedding won’t be next year since I have a lot of international travel!
HOW WE FEEL NOW
- Henry is happy that he has so much more clarity around his future.
- I feel so happy and like our relationship has never been better. I feel like I’m beaming and can’t stop smiling constantly.
- Being engaged is about romanticizing it! It’s about trying on a different label.
- I wanted to shout out the dogs too. I’m so thankful that Finn and Ella get to spend their lives together. Ella wants nothing more than to be with Finn everyday for the rest of her life, and to give her that feels so special. Our love story is their love story, except they knew it first.
- Make sure to join Team Finn because 100% goes to the rescues! Henry is flying to Puerto Rico for the Sato project and every year they fly over 100 dogs over to America.
SUMMARY
I want to say that it’s also amazing to have all of you guys as part of this love story too! You are such a big part and to everyone who has been with us since the beginning of us dating, we see you and love you. Your love and support for us as a couple is not unnoticed! We read every comment and appreciate all of it. We can’t wait to bask in this transitory period of being engaged and maybe even buy a house soon! Thank you for being here and for celebrating with us.
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
