Engagement Story!

I have been gone for so long. I have honestly thought and thought about what my first post should be about after such a lengthy hiatus, and it feels oddly overwhelming, for so much has happened in life, so I will start there! I am engaged! I have been so giddy and excited planning my wedding that I have neglected this part of my life – the part that makes my happier than anything – this blog! Today, I will neglect this blog no more, because I want to share the journey to my wedding with everyone. I will start with the story! 

Nathan and I have been dating since our senior year of high school. As our friendship grew so did our feelings. We dated our senior year of high school all the way through college. Nathan’s college was only 30 minutes away from mine, and despite the drive and seemingly different lives with different majors one thing never changed: our love. Instead of growing apart, we only grew closer! After graduating I moved home to Santa Barbara and Nathan moved to LA, and even still, distance was no match for our love. Nathan finally moved back to Santa Barbara and we were together in the same city again! On February 16 of this year, our five year anniversary rolled around. Nathan told me we were going to visit Palm Springs (which happens to be my favorite place on planet earth) so it didn’t seem like anything too out of the ordinary. I love to poke around the amazing shops, soak up the sun, eat at the amazing restaurants, swim, and feel the colorful and exciting energy of the city. We were going to walk around the grounds of La Quinta Resort which is, in my opinion, the most beautiful place California offers, before getting dinner and driving home. Nathan started acting odd and moving the hotel’s outdoor furniture around. He told me he was going to give me my card and gift, but he did not have one in his hand, so I started to wonder what his deal was. He told me he memorized his card and wanted to tell me it to my face. He started to recite the most beautiful poem that he wrote and was shaking, and I finally began to understand what was happening. Instead of crying like any normal girl would do, I started laughing and kept telling him to “stop!” The poem concluded with “Will you marry me?” Instead of screaming an enthusiastic “yes,” I grabbed the ring from his fingers, making him pry it out of my hands as I realized I had not yet answered. This was the most special day of my entire life, and I cannot wait to share my planning process with everyone! Click to see some engagement photo’s! All photos are by the AMAZING Anna Joy Photo. If you are in the Santa Barbara area you must check her out!