The first few days and even weeks after you get engaged you tell the story of "how he popped the question" over and over and over again. It feels like literally every word out of your mouth is Shocked! Ring! One knee! Yes! Awww! Or I know right?! Ok well maybe that's because that IS all that's coming out of your mouth... Anyway I got the story dooowwn. I had the fast version, the long version, every emotion, every detail... I fired it off at the drop of a hat to any and everyone who asked. But I noticed as time goes on and as less and less people keep asking (thank the Lord) I find the memory of the most eventful night of my life getting a bit cloudy. Now of course I'm not forgetting it, no no noooo never. It's just that each and every detail about it was so perfect and fun that I don't ever want to forget any of it, not one detail. So I needed to write this out somewhere so I can have it to read back on and I thought, who better to write it all out than the mastermind behind the whole thing, right? Of course I have my own version in my head, which I still need to write out, but for now this'll do. So without further ado I give you the story of our engagement as told by Joel Henderson:
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December 29th, 2010: Steph & I had known for a while we'd eventually be married. Once you've been dating for so long it really just becomes a matter of timing.
Once I decided it was time to purchase the ring and pop the question, I knew I had to act fast. I wanted to catch Steph off guard, and for it to be a complete surprise. She is so smart and notices everything, so if I would have waited 2 or 3 more months (like originally planned) she would have been expecting it any day. I of course set up a breakfast with her parents the morning of the proposal. Before I gave them my rehearsed speech I said "I am pretty sure you know why I have asked you guys to meet me this early, and to keep it from Steph." Without hesitation her dad jokingly said "You won the lottery!" It caught me off guard so I quickly answered "Well, if you say yes then I will feel like I have won the lottery." Cheesy I know, but it was all I could come up with at the time! After talking for a while and sharing my heart with them I received their blessing to marry their daughter.
Now for the good stuff.. My brother and I went later that afternoon to pick up the ring I had bought. Steph arrived at my house at 5:30 for our dinner plans. But before we left I asked her to come in and sit down. I told her I had gotten her a Christmas present just in case she got me one, as we had decided not to exchange Christmas gifts this year. The first thing she said was "Great, now I'm the bad guy because I didn't get you anything.... blah blah blah". As she sat down to open the gift I reassured her it was nothing to be upset over. I gave her the present and because of the way it was wrapped she could clearly see it was a frame of some sort. She joked "Well, it isn't a ring!" Little did she know. Inside was a custom Nan Lawson print, Stephs favorite artist who takes photos you submit of yourselves and turns them into a custom digital illustration. Several months before this I had written Nan and asked if she'd create a piece with me on one knee proposing to Steph. On the print I had written "What are you doing for the rest of my life?" Stephs first reaction was just pure excitement over getting another Nan Lawson print, and THEN she realized that what was happening in the picture was actually correlating with what was going on in front of her. She looked up from the frame and I was on one knee with the ring in my hand. Before I could even get anything out she started crying and saying "Are you serious? Is this a joke? Did you buy that? This is not happening." She was in complete shock and I loved it. I had truly surprised her. I reassured her that it was in fact really happening. I then said "I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" Even after I placed the ring on her finger she remained in shock asking over and over again if I was serious. I gave her the tightest hug, and asked her if that was a yes..? "YES, of course it is a yes!" she answered. After hugging, laughing, crying, and praying together we made the necessary calls to family & friends, and continued on to dinner. It was such a special night, and I cannot wait to tell this story to anyone that will listen for the rest of our lives.
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And there it is, perfect right? I couldn't imagine a more perfect proposal for me... it truly was everything I could have hoped for and more. So personal, intimate, low-key, us, creative, etc. etc. etc. My favorite reaction from everyone I've told this to has been comments like "Wow, that kind of a plan comes from truly knowing someone so well..." or "I can't believe how you that is!" And it's all SO true. I am so so grateful for the ways Joel knows me, how we know each other. And I am grateful for a proposal story that speaks to that.
In case you're wondering, my favorite parts are: the cheesy lottery comment he made to Dave Barber, the fact that he'd had this print sitting in his closet for several months before he proposed, the fact that at first I was just excited to get another Nan Lawson print, asking him over and over again if he's sure he bought that ring, and oh yeah THE FACT THAT I GET TO MARRY HIM FOREVER & EVER!
(PS: I added our two big life stories to a separate little section up on the top titled "Our Stories" if you're interested)
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