Friday, May 3, 2013

He said, "Will you?"

Wedding Plans

Finally! What you've all been waiting for! No one really cares about the courtship, they just want the nitty gritty details about the proposal! Right? No? Anyone? Anyway. We're there now. Thank you for your patience.

Continuing from where I left off...once Greg and I got back together, the idea of marriage was kind of always kind of there in the back of my mind. Could I? Would I? Should I? That kind of thing. I wasn't thinking about it SERIOUSLY. I don't believe I really sat down and considered the pros and cons of such an arrangement. It was just a thought to contemplate in my free time.

A couple weeks after our little reunion, he and I went up to see some of my extended relations up in northern Utah. Everyone seemed to ask us the same question, "So how does he feel about you going on a mission? Is he going to wait for you?" to which we both responded, "We haven't discussed it." One of my cousins even asked me when we were alone at the store, "If he proposed, what would you do? I said simply, "I'd say no!"

The night after getting back from meeting the rellies, we were at his family's house in Orem and we were just chilling in the living room. I am not sure what got the conversation on that track, but we started discussing our future plans. Respective future plans. Not future plans together. I asked him where he thought he'd be in a year. Then he asked me the same thing. I thought about it, and then I said, "Well I see two options. I could either be in Japan...

or I could not be in Japan."

The implication of course being that I would either be on a mission or I wouldn't. There's obviously only really one thing that could've brought about the latter. Greg asked me which side of the fence I was leaning to - the Japan side or the not-Japan side. I told him I was really just walking very steadily on the fence. He asked which side I'd fall on if a breeze hit me. I told him I honestly didn't know.

But I really started thinking about it. Even as we were sitting there I just considered it seriously. I think it was mainly silent ponderful thinking, not really a discussion. I don't quite recall. I did take this picture...

"Hi, I'm really cute. Consider marrying me maybe?" Oh ok!
Basically at some point I just looked at him and thought, "Yeah. Yeah I think I could marry him." And WHAM! I just had a confirmation in my soul of peace and contentment that YES. Yes I could. And that was that for me. I told my family the next day. I told Greg the day after that. He agreed he'd be very open to the option, and that he'd pray about it. About a week later when he'd gotten his own answering we started planning. We scheduled the temple and he planned on going to California with me to meet my parents in person. Bam. Then he started planning a proposal. Or he was supposed to. I don't actually know the timeline of that because I made it very clear I wouldn't be assisting in any way because I wanted to be surprised - same for the ring. I did give him my sister's phone number, however, and I told her everything I wanted in a ring.

The Proposal

Flash forward about a month. March 29th. Greg was all set up to propose. He'd been laying the sneaky ground plans with, "Oh let's have Chinese food tomorrow night..." and he had a cheap Walmart ring for me to wear until we picked out a real ring. I didn't think it was TOO weird that he wanted Chinese food even though I KNOW it's not his favorite. Anyway.

Trina texted him a few hours before he planned to proceed. "She wants the real ring for the proposal," she told him. Greg's plans screeched to a halt. I didn't think it was weird when he suddenly didn't want Chinese food anymore. That was probably the least suspicious I'd been about his actions that entire month.

And I am SO suspicious.

That whole month I was paranoid that he would propose at any moment, despite his threats to propose in California (which I also slightly believed). I LOVE surprises but I am SO difficult to surprise because I am always eagerly anticipating it. But that's ok, because when the surprise DOES come, I'm still a little surprised.

I became suspicious, however, when during the next week he was continually late and getting mysterious phone calls from people which he wouldn't explain. I became even more suspicious when suddenly a week later he wanted to eat Chinese food again. Not TOO suspicious. But I was already at the point that I was extra-beautifying myself every day just in case he proposed and I'd be in pictures.

So Friday, April 5th, a week after he originally planned to propose, came. I started beautifying myself, and my roommate approved and disapproved outfits (I didn't realize she knew Greg was going to propose and was helping me look nice). A quick sidenote about clothes -- Greg asked me the day before to bring an extra outfit in case it rained and then we'd play in the rain and I could then change. I learned after he proposed that he'd been planning for every kind of situation. This is also relevant because since I had extra clothes I ended up changing into less cute clothes right before he proposed. Ugh. And no, it wasn't raining. I got oil on my pants.

We had Chinese food at his house, with a few of our friends. When I arrived, his roommates Nate and Rick were in the backyard staring at something in the garden. I concede I had only a flicker of suspicion before Nate came in and told me about how they were planning a summer garden. I fell for it. I learned later they were setting up a hidden camera.

We then made dinner. Greg had meant to cook it FOR me, but I took over (he is a great cook though!). We made it together and it was pretty good. It was mostly stuff we got from Costco and put together, but it was delicious either way.

After dinner I settled myself on the couch and started playing a game on my phone while those around us socialized. Then Greg was like, "Hey Tess, let's go in the backyard and watch the sunset." To him, he thought this wasn't suspicious because according to what we told his mother we had done so "3-4 times" - that is false. We had gone into the backyard maybe once and it wasn't even to watch the sunset (though the sun happened to be setting at the time. Needless to say...

I was immediately suspicious.

"Why?" I asked.

"It's too hot in here."

"Ok, Greg. Let's go 'watch the sunset.'"

So I allowed myself to be led outside, just him and me, and arranged on a blanket in the backyard. I say "arranged" because he actually moved me so I was better positioned for cameras. That wasn't weird or suspicious at all (sarcasm). But I was still not POSITIVE if he was actually proposing, since he'd been purposefully trying to trick me for awhile. Also I was distracted by the game on my phone. I continued to play that when we went outside. I know I know...I may have been killing the mood with my media obsession.

It was a little chilly so Greg went inside once to get me a jacket. Unbeknownst to me, he used the opportunity to command his minions. Nate was directed to follow five minutes after. Cameras were distributed. Stuff like that. He came back and gave me his jacket - his comfy fluffy man hoodie, which I assure you made my cute outfit all the cuter.

So getting to the actual PROPOSAL. Five minutes after he brought me his jacket, Nate came out with fortune cookies. "Since we had Chinese...we had these..." My thought was,

HA! THIS IS IT!

I fully expected my fortune to say, "Will you marry me?" I was only half right. I enthusiastically broke open my cookie and started elegantly (not) eating it as I pulled my fortune free. I looked around then and Nate and Rick both had cameras on me and I realized I should probably set the cookie aside for later, so I did, and I read my fortune.
He printed and cut and put the fortunes in the cookie himself, and then rewrapped the cookie.
If you can't see it, it says, "Stop searching forever happiness is just next to you."
And honestly, my thought was, "Well that's actually very much like a fortune. What does Greg's say?" It wasn't until I read his that I knew this was the actual proposal. He tricked me.
"Hope she says yes"
Just so you know, she did.
 As soon as I read his, he pulled the ring out of his pocket and then said simply,

"Tessara, will you marry me?"

He said after that he had had a speech all planned out but that was all he could get out. But it was just perfect. I was so surprised at everything he did and it was all so sweet and simple and beautiful and I loved my ring and I was so shocked and pleased that I was shocked and I looked at Nate and Rick and I looked at Greg and I looked at the sunset and my eyes watered up and then I took the ring and put it on.


I love love LOVE my ring. He did such a good job.

And I think I nodded.

And here are our lucky numbers. On 07-27-2013 at 12:40, I get to be sealed for time and eternity with the man I love. He is the kindest most loving person I have ever met, and I am so excited he's mine, even though I don't deserve him.

The luckiest numbers ever!
And that's that. That's our story. It seems like a long one so far but it's really just the beginning!

5 comments:

  1. Yeah, I am pretty sly when the occasion is necessary. I don't think you know how hard it is to plan a surprise (like a proposal) for someone who is constantly thinking it's going to happen. It's a hard thing to do, but I think we did it rather nicely... and it was a miracle that the weather cleared up the way it did. And Tessara...you said you don't deserve me, I know that to be false. You are pretty much one of the BEST people I know. You deserve someone to match those qualities (it just so happens that according to you, I fit the bill)... and I wouldn't have it any other way. I hope my comments have been sufficient enough thus far...

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  2. Tess, I loved reading about your whole dating and courtship and the proposal!! You two seem so happy together and are just so cute. I am so happy for you!! I also liked reading Greg's comments... it is clear that he adores you!

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  3. Loved this and getting to hear all the details..and ur humor I fused through out, glad I happened upon this!

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  4. I forgot to actually say "yes" when Scott proposed too. I was so confused by how he got a real looking ring when we had JUST chosen it the day before that I chose to focus on that instead, haha. Well, I am glad you said yes and now I demand :) that you post the pictures of your first engaged bliss in your less cute outfit that I'm sure still looks cute.

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  5. I wish my husband would reply to my blogs as well as your fiance does.
    I'm still waiting for pictures/video of this. for real. I just texted Greg about it.
    also I did a lot to prepare for the ring proposal darn it.

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