Not only has the past month been a very exciting time for me, it’s been an amazing time for several of my local gal pals too.

This past Saturday night, Philip and I attended the wedding of a couple we’ve known for quite some time now. (It was at Journey, by the way. Our church. So my ulterior motive was to see how they decorated and set up the place. Hehe. Kidding! Kinda.)

It was a BEAUTIFUL wedding. Their colors were black and white with touches of pink.

Thanks to our close friend Alisa for snapping this photo. Look at them! Aren’t they adorable? He truly cherishes her. Not only could you tell as they spoke their vows to each other, but just being around them makes you happy and full of love. I’m truly blessed to have friends like them. Thank you, Jake and Heylee, for being two wonderful people. We feel privileged to have been a part of your big day.

Little did we know that, while we were at this wedding, another friend was  on his knee, popping the question just a few buildings away!

Philip and I have known Loyd and Deeann for a little over a year now. (I think? Times flies!) We met them through our small group at church. They’ve been dating for about four years and, according to Deeann, had also been talking about marriage for a bit.

Well, for the past few weeks Loyd had been devising the perfect proposal plan. He TOTALLY pulled it off without a hitch! (This plan was detailed! Too intricate for me to even detail here!) So while we were at Jake and Heylee’s wedding on Saturday night, Loyd, Deeann and both of their families were also at The Factory to be a part of Loyd and Deeann’s proposal. Here’s a photo taken after she said yes:

Talk about beautiful, happy smiles. I love it. This photo was taken as they were walking into Saffire restaurant at The Factory – where their families were anxiously awaiting them.

This past weekend was incredible…and full of love, happy couples and wonderful friends.

We returned from Chicago yesterday afternoon. Whew! What a trip. We had a wonderful weekend spending time with Stephanie and her fiance Kyle. They really helped us understand the ropes of getting around the city. More details (and pictures!) of the trip soon!

When Philip and I were looking at engagement rings, our first stop was Genesis Diamonds in Cool Springs – right between Nashville and Franklin. Genesis Diamonds also has another store in the Green Hills area of Nashville. On our very first trip to look at rings, I found THE one. Though we looked at several other local jewelry stores, everything was dim in comparison to the beautiful Verragio engagement setting we found at Genesis.

Now I get to enjoy this lovely setting (with a cushion cut diamond) every day as it sits on my finger. I’ll tell you the truth, putting that ring on my finger each morning is my absolute favorite part of every single day. Philip always gets a little chuckle because he catches me staring at it all the time. Here’s an up-close-and-personal look at my beautiful ring…

Thank you, Philip, for making me the happiest girl in the world.

The Proposal

On Saturday, July 18, 2009 at approximately 5:00 p.m., my best friend asked me to be his wife. (I said yes.)

Philip and I had been talking about marriage for quite some time – particularly after my Dad started dropping some hints to me about it earlier this year. After several trips with Philip to the jewelry store, we finally found “the” setting. I chose a Verragio design and mentioned that I would like a cushion cut diamond.

Fast forward to July 10, 2009. Philip tells me to not make any plans for July 18.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because you tend to plan things a week in advance and I need you to keep that afternoon open,” he said.

The following Wednesday, he told me we were having some pictures taken on Saturday at The Factory in Franklin and that I had to be ready by 3 p.m. for him to retrieve me for our photography session. Needless to say, I was somewhat suspicious and suspecting this could be “the day”.

At 3 p.m. on said Saturday, Philip picked me up and drove us to The Factory. I asked him who was taking our pictures, but he wouldn’t tell.

Shortly after we arrived, a black Mini sped past us. Sure enough. I knew it. Our friend (and co-worker) Tony Matula was Philip’s partner in crime and the photographer responsible for our photo shoot.

After taking a bunch of funny, sweet, silly and romantic photos, Philip said there was one more photo he would like to take. (Here’s where Philip gets down on his knee and you see me making the face in the above photo.)

Down on one knee with my hand in his, the man of my dreams looked in my eyes (which were welling up with tears at this point), told me he loved me and asked me to make him the happiest man in the world by becoming his wife.

We lunged into each other’s arms and I remember telling myself to remember every little detail of this moment. Fortunately, with Tony there capturing each moment, that was taken care of.

After wiping away the tears of happiness, I touched up my makeup and we took photos with the ring. Philip was definitely thinking ahead when he planned this. These are now our engagement photos!

I’m very excited to be starting this journey “down the aisle” and look forward to sharing all of our experiences here leading up to and beyond the big day.

Thank you in advance for reading and for sharing your tips, ideas, suggestions and stories.