Wow I actually can’t believe I’m writing this right now. One month ago, on Saturday, May 22nd, Craig got down on one knee and asked me to marry him; to be his forever. My heart is so full and just writing those words truly just gave me chills. I am so completely in love and happy and I feel so blessed to be marrying my best friend and soulmate. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Today I want to share the proposal story (finally!) and answer some FAQs I got on Instagram. She’s a long one, so get ready.
Linking my exact skirt HERE!
The Proposal
The week leading up to the proposal, we were planning a blog photo shoot for that Saturday morning, or so I thought. We agreed to pack two outfits for us to shoot, and we were going to go to the Brooklyn Bridge early in the morning to get ahead of the crowds. It was slated to be a beautiful day—sunny, high 80s, the perfect summer day. Craig helped me pick out my two outfits the night before and, suspiciously, was asking for my input on his outfit. This was odd because usually Craig dresses super casual for a blog photo shoot since he’s the photographer. This weekend he claimed he wanted to dress up a little so that we could “take a few good photos together for his mom.” Sure, Jan.
We woke up that morning around 7:30am and got ready to head out for the morning. Everything went really smoothly and we were in an Uber, pulling up to Brooklyn Bridge Park by 9am. Our early arrival totally paid off, and the area was much less crowded than usual; just a few runners/bikers/dog walkers were out there. We found our first location to shoot outfit one and took some photos. We swapped roles and I took a few pictures of Craig since remember, I thought I was supposed to be taking some for his mom, hah!
Once we finished shooting outfit one, we decided to walk around a little to find a coffee shop for me to change in and to grab an iced coffee, because though it was still early, it was starting to get pretty hot outside. We ended up strolling around DUMBO before finding a Starbucks and grabbing a coffee. Editor’s Note: Until this very moment, I forgot that I had planned to change clothes in that Starbucks! I ended up just getting the coffee and staying in outfit one because I was distracted by Craig’s semi-suspicious behavior.
Coffee in hand, Craig lead me to this little spot by the bridge called Pebble Beach so that we could sit for a second, take in the view and just enjoy the moment. This is when I pretty much knew what was happening.
There was a family taking photos at the best spot of the beach where the view is just perfect. We watched their photo shoot and just chatted about life. Finally they wrapped up and Craig asked if I wanted to go get a selfie together at that spot. Again, I knew what was happening by now so I agreed. We walked over to the spot and took a few selfies. I gave him a little kiss and turned my head to look at the skyline behind us. He took both of my hands in his and I don’t know if he was shaking or if I was…maybe we both were.
He told me how much he loved me. How special these last eight years have been together. And all sorts of beautiful, sweet things that I had been dying to hear. I remember becoming hyper-aware while this was all happening and trying to keep myself together and FOCUS on what he was saying since I knew this was a once in a lifetime moment. I wanted to remember every single word, every single feeling, everything. At one point I started nodding my head as if to say yes and I quickly made myself stop since he hadn’t even asked yet, hah!
He got down on one knee and pulled out a small black box. I think I literally took a deep breath to keep myself together at this point. Ring box in hand, on one knee, in front of a small group of fellow New Yorkers, with the iconic and beautiful Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline behind us, Craig asked “Kacie Alaina Nelson, will you marry me?” (Yes, he used my full name—a small detail that I secretly hoped he would do!)
And that’s when I died.
Kidding! Obviously haha. But I’m pretty sure fireworks were going off inside of me and I was ecstatic and so overjoyed to say YES. It was this moment that I had dreamed about for SO long; since I was a little girl. And now it was really happening! The mystery man I’d always imagined has a face, and it’s my favorite face on this earth.
Post Proposal
After it was all over, Craig turned to me and said “Oh, and say hi to LB!” and gestured towards our photographer friend who had been hiding the whole time and caught it all on camera! It was hilarious and perfect all at the same time. I’d told Craig years ago that I wanted somebody around to document the moment so we could have the photos forever and he actually remembered and did it! It was even better than I could have imagined since we both knew LB and it wasn’t just any photographer. LB congratulated us on our engagement and we spent the next hour or so taking all of these photos around DUMBO! It was so much fun but also a bit overwhelming. We were both so elated and truly on cloud nine, we just wanted to take a second to breathe and soak it all in.
Or so I thought…again!
After our photo shoot with LB wrapped up, we sat in the gardens at The River Cafe and just chatted about the morning and hung out. We ended up walking over to a bar nearby to enjoy a cocktail outside before heading home and “calling our friends and families”. At this point it was around noon and I was definitely pretty hungry. Craig, however, was really set on only having one drink and no food before we headed home. More suspicious behavior.
So we enjoyed our drinks and called an Uber home. We agreed to go up to the roof when we got home so instead of stopping by the apartment first to drop off our bags, Craig wanted to go straight upstairs. I obliged, because at this point I was just so content that I’d literally follow him anywhere.
As soon as we got to the roof I saw a gorgeous balloon arch and one of those super cute Instagram picnics set up for us, with place settings for like ten people. Odd, I thought, considering it was just Craig and I. That’s when I heard “SURPRISE!” and a rush of our friends and family ran out from the other side of our rooftop. It was such an intense rush of emotion that I immediately started sobbing.
Photo evidence that I wasn’t exaggerating. I literally burst into tears when everyone popped out.
I’ve never been surprised before guys. I’ve never had (but always wanted) a surprise party, so this was super special for me. At one point between all the hugs and tears and “congratulations!” I heard someone say “and your family is all on Zoom!” I looked to my left and sure enough there was a laptop set up with a bunch of our family and friends cheering for us and waving. It was the most beautiful, special thing I’ve ever experienced. And I have my amazing fiancĂ© and best friends to thank for it all!
FAQs
Wow that was a lot! Now onto your questions from Instagram…
Did you have a feeling he was going to propose?
So as you can tell from the story, I did have a feeling that something was going on. But it was weird; I’d dreamt of this moment for so long and we’ve been together for so long that in the days leading up to it I started to doubt that it was really going to happen. I’d say I was about 60% sure that Saturday was the day but a small part of me was in self-preservation mode and tried not to get my hopes up.
When did you all start dating and how did you meet?
Craig and I met during orientation week before our freshman year of college at the University of Miami! We quickly became friends, and then best friends, and started officially dating the summer before our junior year (2013). We put together this post a few years ago where we each tell our side of the “how we met” story and talk about our relationship. It’s a fun read if you’re interested in that!
When and where is the wedding?
Well the details are all still very much up in the air. We really took the last few weeks to just relax and be engaged before jumping into all the wedding planning. Right now, we are thinking about fall 2022 or spring 2023. Location is also TBD, since our families and friends are kind of all over the country. Florida (where we met) and NYC (where we live, obviously) are front runners though.
Okay wow, that wraps up this post! If you made it to the end, THANK YOU for reading our story and taking the time to visit my little corner of the internet. I truly am over the moon and can’t believe this is my life. I’m excited to start wedding planning and get that somewhat-intimidating ball rolling. And of course I’ll document it all, right here on the blog for #WeddingWednesdays! Be sure to check back here or subscribe to my newsletter so you don’t miss a post. You can also follow along on Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube for more real time updates. Finally, if you are also a bride right now, I’d love to connect and follow your wedding planning journey! Leave your info in the comments below so I can check it out. Until next #WeddingWednesday, friends…
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