Our engagement story....

JanineA · June 9, 2010

Hi ladies so I am sitting at home organizing my photobucket (getting ready for planning journal in a few months...yipppeee), and I decided to share the story of my FI Chris and I with a few pics from the actual night of our engagement.

Chris and I met while I was moving into my best friend's penthouse. I didn't have a clicker for the gate in her community and when I saw a black SUV pulling in I pushed my car right up against the bumper and snuck in. My best friend was still at work and I had a key so I figured once I could acutally get in the main gate I would be fine. Well low and behold this guy jumps out of the SUV talking on his cell phone and looking at me suspiciously (Chris)...yeah right, like all 5'1 of me looked like a threat. I rolled my eyes and ignored him. Don't you know he came over, introduced himself, asked if I was moving in and offered to help.

Fast forward months later, after seeing him around the building riding the elevator numerous times together and after he asked me out twice and I said no, we started dating and what a wonderful relationship we've had. We are best friends. We got into the habit that every month at least one weekend we had date night, we'd go to some restuarant and then go dancing or just to a lounge and have a few drinks. Just the two of us, no friends. So I wasn't shocked when after the long summer apart (Chris usually goes to the Hamptons in the summer) he came back to Miami and said he was going to plan a great date night for us. I did find it strange that he didn't want me to make the reservations but I didn't give it much thought.

After a lovely dinner at Hakkasan (Fontainebleau Resort, Miami Beach), Chris asked me if I wanted to take a stroll on the beach. Coming out of a string of busy weeks for us both I welcomed the chance to canoodle and spend some quality time with him. As we strolled along the sand, the beach was secluded and there was barely any light from the moon above (there had been a new moon, the prior night).We giggled and ran from waves, walking hand in hand, talking about anything that came up. There was nothing unusual about this scene as it played out between us, there was nothing out of the ordinary....or at least so I thought.

I gave no second thought to when he came to a spot in the sand where he stopped, looked me directly in the eyes and said "How much do you love me?". This is a usual game he and I take part in, so in my regular fashion I clasped my hands together as if in prayer and said "This much, from the outside of this hand to the outside of the other". He chuckled and I giggled knowing all too well what comes next. "How much do you love me?" I said. He looked down at me as I shifted my weight to one foot and held out my right hand "This much". I was flabergasted..."That's it?" I said. "I don't even deserve the other hand..." but before I could finish he dropped to one knee and reached for my left hand.

At first I wasn't sure if he was steadying himself to remove his shoes or what was going on but in a moment it all became so apparent. Time stood still and I could no longer hear any of the words escaping his lips. In front of me on bended knee he was holding open a box and exquisitely nestled in the center was a perfectly shaped...."Oh my God". It was a ring! A glimmer of light bounced off of it and it danced and dazzled and played through it. For what seemed like eternity I couldn't speak, all I kept repeating was "Oh my God, oh my God". I was finally brought back to reality when Chris said "Well hopefully oh my God means yes". I looked down at him teary eyed and said "Yes...absolutely...yes". Then of course I proceeded to call everyone on earth to tell them!!!

Here are a few pics of me on the phone with my family (he had gotten us an oceanfront suite at Fontainebleau) which the staff adorned with red roses, a bucket of Veuve on ice and chocolate covered strawberries.

At dinner