Y'all.
Y'all...
Y'all.........
He finally proposed!!!!!! My long-time boyfriend of 5 years and 8 months finally popped the question and he did so in such an amazing way.
A little ways over a month prior Kevin, my long-time boyfriend, said we needed to go on a date. He said it'd been awhile since we'd done something for just the two of us. Said we should keep the first weekend of June open and plan something for it. He actually kept saying I was going to pay for whatever we ended up doing; which I was fine with. As we planned throughout the month bit by bit I ended up labeling this date as a "Day of Dates". It wasn't like it was one thing happening and then we were done. No, we talked about getting pedicures again, it'd been months since we'd done that. He suggested maybe a picnic in the park, something we've never done but I was open to it. I suggested skydiving. Go-karts got thrown in as an idea, but we ultimately settled on three things.
Our "Day of Dates" started off with me attempting to sleep in. Yea, wasn't gonna happen since my body is hardwired to wake up at 8:00amb because of work. So really what I ended up doing was laying in bed until about 10:00am waiting on Kevin to wake up.
10:00 o'clock rolls around and Kevin is finally up. We decide on going to First Watch out in Waverly. We've been to the Matthews location several times and were told to check out this location whenever we got the chance. When we get there the wait is as expected. About 45 minutes until they can seat us.
I take this opportunity to go to Ulta, a beauty supply store, to try and exchange some makeup foundation I bought a week ago. Low and behold I can't because they don't carry Estee Lauder at that location. — I ended up going to a different location after brunch.— So we walk back to First Watch to finish waiting. When we get back we actually get seated earlier than expected due to some connections we have.
Next up is Zootastic Park!
I honestly didn't know what to expect once we got there. We picked the place because a friend couple of ours had been there last year. I really wanted to go because I wanted to get a picture with a giraffe.
We paid to get in and the attendant told us that the next wagon ride would start at 3:00pm; about a 25 minute wait. Kevin and I just figured we'd roam the grounds until then. Chickens and peacocks were out and about walking around. There were turtles in this low but open habitat. I saw some black panthers, I think, and we heard these really loud spider monkeys.
Finally we went over and took a seat on the wagon just waiting for the tour to start. It was a bunch of families there of course. Kids probably enjoyed it the most since it was really interactive. You could pay for a reusable cup and pay for animal food to feed the animals. Once the ride started we were about 5 minutes in when we stopped. It was pretty much the only stop. Llamas, alpacas, Zebra's and some other animals came up. They were eating out of people's hands and sticking their heads into the wagon. Kevin wasn't feeling it so we moved to the middle aisle seats.
The tour took us by the bear they have on-site and several teenage lions. We saw some bison and various other animals I don't recall the names of. After the tour we headed over to the giraffes finally and that ended up scaring the mess out of me. For one, there was a peacock in my way to the bridge. Kevin shooed him away. Second, when I got closer the giraffes started hitting each other on the neck with their heads. This nice gentleman came up with his wife and offered carrots to us to feed the giraffes but I was too afraid at this point. Kevin on the other hand ended up getting the giraffe. There were a couple more attempts on my end but fear ultimately had it's way.
At this point we still have one more stop in our itinerary which is to go to Freedom Park. We were going to take pictures there but it'd been a long day so we decided to stop off at MOD Pizza for a quick bite first. Plus I wanted to put my makeup on for the pictures. When we finally make it to the park Kevin walks me in to the entrance and then tells me he forgot his hat in the car so to just wait there. Mine you I'd actually guessed about two weeks prior that he was going to propose. In my head I'm like "oh he just be going back to get the ring". So I wait patiently.
Kevin comes back and we start making our way around the park. Casual conversation. We make it all the way to the other end where the fountain in the lake is. As we walk up to the fountain I can blatantly see the photographer with his standing light. I tried my best to act like I hadn't noticed it. So we're standing on the edge of the lake platform. Kevin makes a remark about us taking the moment to throw a coin in and make a wish since it's a fountain. He hands me a quarter and I make a lovely retort about how I actually can't flip a coin so I'll just toss it.
Out the blue, right before we're about to toss the coins, my friend from UNCC comes up to me and says hi. She actually had no idea what was going and I did my best to not spoil it that I know but she leaves as quickly as she appears.
Back to the wish!
Alright, so we throw in our coins. I'm wishing, in every bone in my body, that this is THE MOMENT because if not then Kevin got me good. Had led me on and it was just one of those typical days where he goes above and beyond. In that moment Kevin asks me what I wished for and I told him I couldn't tell him because if I did then it wouldn't come true lol. He goes on to tell me what his wish is. That his wish is to spend the rest of his life with me. He grabs the ring out of his pocket and gets down on one knee.
To be quite honest I actually don't know what Kevin said. It was like time stood still for me and all I could hear was the sound of my own voice. Of course subconsciously I do hear him. At that point I suck up all of the emotions inside of me and I take a deep breath and I say "Yes". And then I see the ring. I see this gorgeous ring. A ring I have spent years sending him mockups of. It's THE RING. The ring of my dreams and I'm just full of so much happiness and bliss. He puts the ring on my finger and I can't help but kiss him repeatedly.
After that apparently Kevin had scheduled not only for a photographer to capture the moment but also for a full blown engagement photoshoot. We spent the next hour taking photos all around Freedom Park; which I absolutely loved. At around 7:30pm we finally make it back to the car and we're headed home.
But that's not all folks
We get back to the house and I have his keys to open the door. As I open the door I am greeted by some of my closest friends and sisters with a big ole "SURPRISE!!!". This man planned an engagement party! There were popcorn bags with "He finally popped the question" tags. Ring pops. Cupcakes with little engagement ring toppers on them. They placed little photo backdrops around my living room for us to take pictures in front of. They fixed up a light dinner buffet table. I had to go into the bathroom to compose myself because I was ready to burst into tears.
To top it off we all gather in the living room and take seats. There's a video waiting to be played. Kevin's best friend made a slideshow of a lot of pictures from over the years saying back to our first dates together. There's also a really nice message from Kevin in it as well and I was just so happy to have this outpouring of love from these people that I really do consider as my family.
It was simply amazing. Although I had an inkling that he was going to propose there were so many elements that did surprise me. I promise I'll give you a full blown rundown of how I guessed and some of the funny moments that were shared with me later on that evening about getting the whole event to come together, and also Kevin's diligence in planning to make each fairytale aspect come true for me. But I'm sure you've been reading long enough for today. Enjoy the gallery!