How We Met
I switched schools for my senior years in grade eleven, after being at the same school since kindergarten! I knew no one except two girls in the grade below, so I was super shy! He was outgoing and had the most infectious laugh, that made even the toughest of teachers howl in laughter… why is it always the class clowns that are so attractive?!? It didn’t take long to realize he was super popular and sought out by all the girls in the school. We had English class together and because our last names are at the end of the alphabet, he sat right behind me. We started talking one day when we had to pass our quizzes to the person behind us to grade, and since our first conversation, we quickly became close friends. We were close friends for all of grade eleven and grade twelve… except for I had developed the biggest crush on my best friend.
He waited until a week before grad to ask me if I wanted to go with him… “since we both still had no one to go with”. It was one of the best moments of my life, because I knew he had been asked by other girls, but turned them down to go with me! This was the moment I realized he might have feelings for me too. He kissed me for the first time on the cheek at grad in front of my parents, but I didn’t care, it was all so magical and I knew something special was brewing. It was a long, summer of hanging out constantly and endless sleepovers at each other’s houses until finally on August 12th, 2009, he came over to my house to watch the meteor shower and at 2 am, we gave ourselves the official “boyfriend and girlfriend” label. Fast forward TEN years, one apartment, a long-distance relationship, several jobs, a company, and five animals later… and here we are!!!! FINALLY ENGAGED TO MY HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEART!
How They Asked
Every year for our anniversary we love to do a big trip of some sort. We go traveling a lot and love it, but this year we knew it was a big year, so we decided on something more low key and relaxing. We developed a huge love of wines over the decade we have been together so, we figured no better place to get some R&R and reflect on our relationship than in Napa Valley! We always hire a photographer on our anniversary to document our travels so this year was no different! We were lucky enough to have snagged the most amazing 70 acres (yes, 70 acres) organic vineyard, all to ourselves in which we were to have the photo shoot! Our anniversary day came, and because we fell in love with our air B&B so much we hadn’t spent much time actually exploring the Napa Valley area. We decided to rent a limo and spend all day exploring different wineries prior to our photoshoot. We were letting the limo driver, who was local to the area, take us to his favorite winery for our last stop of the day before heading back for our photoshoot.
He insisted chateau Montelena be our last stop and we rushed to make it there prior to closing for the day. Upon stepping out of the limo Brett and I both looked at each other stunned by the beauty of the Japanese ponds and gardens. The limo driver handed us our picnic basket and we were off to explore all the beauty! I wanted to do a wine tasting and then grab a bottle of wine for our picnic, but Brett insisted we walk the grounds first.
We were only two minutes into walking when we noticed the area was surrounded by turtles and swans! Instinctively, I took out my phone and started to record the spectacle. As I was videoing the panoramic view, a noise caught my attention. When I turned around to see what it was, there Brett was, down on one knee with the biggest ring I had ever laid eyes on and off hiding in a bush, our limo driver taking pictures!!! It was the most breathtaking experience of my life.
I was a mess but none the less we needed to celebrate with wine. We had a tasting in the tasting room where we shared the good news! The manager went to great lengths to break out all the vintage 2009 wines on the house! Everyone in the tasting room got to indulge with us and it made the proposal that much more special! As soon as we finished up we headed back to our Air B&B where our photographer was waiting for us. What was originally an anniversary photoshoot, quickly turned into an engagement shoot!
