Matrimony Monday: The Proposal

Welcome to Matrimony Monday where I share the highs and lows of wedding planning..but first the engagement story!

Lets back up a little, Mike and I had seriously talked about getting engaged when he finished his Masters, and we had picked a date for our potential wedding months ago (August long weekend 2015). Because I am from a smallish town, I knew I should start booking stuff this past Christmas. But as the holidays approached I was ringless, even though Mike was tormenting me with hints.. "It won't be this year, but remember 2014 is around the corner" "The ring isn't in the apartment..yet"...etc. Just enough to drive me crazy (he knows me well). 

We spent the holidays apart (me with my family, he with his), and at one point I reminded him that my parents would be driving me down to Halifax at some point, so if he had anything planned he should coordinate with them. He then sadly told me he didn't have time to plan anything over the holidays, but had something planned for when we got back to Toronto.  Little did I know..this was a lie. Mike was totally in cahoots with my parents, his parents, our friends etc. at this point, the only one not in on it was me!

On December 30th, my parents drove me to Halifax, we had a nice dinner with Mikes family, and my parents left to go home on the 31st. That night Mike and I were (apperently) planning to go to a friend's house for a New Years Eve party. In fact I even ran into that friend shopping and we talked about how fun the party was going to be. (He was also in on it.) 

Around 9 o'clock I was all dressed up, waiting to go, and Mike calls me down to his room. And he says "We aren't going to the party, here is clue number 1". I immediately figure out what is going on, and break down into happy tears, and run around trying to find my phone, and my camera, and warm clothes, and mittens. I was a mess. Apparently this was hilarious to Mike and his family who watched me go up and down the stairs fifteen times as I looked for my phone. 

The clues (there were 6 of them, one for each year we have been together) led me all around Halifax to places that had a significant meaning, or for fun activities, like skating! 

It was cold, but worth it :)

It was super sweet! It was also really well organized. We arrived at clue number 5, Parade Square, at 11:45, and suddenly the thoughts start racing.."Is he going to propose to me in the crowd at the NYE free concert?" "Has he crafted an elaborate scheme that we are going to get on Maritime television???" What is going on!! 

But then he handed me the last clue, that lead us down to the waterfront, where we went out on one of the piers. Then right before midnight he got down on one knee, and opened the ring box. I said yes, and we cried, and then I noticed the ring was the exact one I had pointed out to him before (which I later learned he went through a lot of hassle, and international shipping to get!). 

He did good. 

As we were leaving the pier, he said "There is one more surprise..your parents aren't back home". They had never really left Halifax, but instead were waiting for us back at Parade square, and his parents were waiting at my parents hotel, and they had thrown together a little party for us, with sparkling wine and pie! 

Such a good boyfriend fiancé! 

We flew back to Toronto the next AM, and did the rounds of phone calls, and started the planning!  So far we have the photographer and officiant booked, and we are in talks with a caterer. We are planning a low key event at my parents cottage, but we both have such big families, it will still be a BIG event!! 

I don't want to share too much of the actual wedding details on the blog (got to keep somethings personal/a surprise) but I will be sharing useful things I find, and not so useful things I find in planning!! I may even have some excel planning templates for ya if I get ambitious! Maybe I can even convince Mike to write one from his perspective!