Thursday, June 11, 2015

The Proposal

If you read The Story of Us, then you know all about how Aaron and I ended up together after a beautiful season of hesitation, intentional pursuit, and rich grace. Once I finally got my head on straight and gave my heart to Aaron, I knew it would be only a matter of time before we got engaged, as long as he thought he could put up with me. Not sure he really knew what he was getting into, but hey, he bought a ring so he must have thought I'd be a pretty fun person to spend the rest of his life with, right? And I'm so glad he did.

Aaron's hard work. 
An engagement is something a girl dreams of for her entire life. For mine, I knew I only wanted a few things:

1. I didn't want to pick out the ring myself. I wanted something that my soon-to-be hubby had chosen himself, and I would always think of him when I looked at the flashy rock on my left hand.

2. I wanted the engagement to be a surprise. Seriously, don't tell me it's coming. I love surprises, and this one was super important to me.

3. Have my friends and or family involved in some way. They've all been around for the ups and downs of my life, and I wanted them to be a part somehow.

4. I wanted pictures. Have someone somewhere taking pictures.

5. I wanted it to be completely us. I didn't want some huge fancy show that cost tons of money, just something simple and meaningful and totally our relationship.


Yes, Aaron and I did sort of discuss a couple of these things, especially the ring and that I wanted it to be a surprise. We did size my hand once together, but all I told Aaron was that I wanted a round diamond, white gold, and that I wanted some sort of set where the band would match/fit with the ring. That was it. I knew he was going to propose at some point, and I knew that we were both going to be teachers, so we would likely have a summer wedding. But other than that, I was clueless. And I love that.

November came. My grandma had just passed away, and I was a whirlwind of emotion. Aaron and I drove off to San Antonio with some friends to lead program for the Platte County YoungLife Non-Stop Trip. While we were there, we celebrated his birthday, and I got to meet his Aunt Diana, who lives in Houston. She's amazing! We got back and I took two days off of work for bereavement, so I was off for the entire week of Thanksgiving.

It was November 21st, 2012. Aaron and I had plans to go out to eat at Bo Lings to celebrate eight months of dating. We had actually started dating on the 22nd, but that was going to be Thanksgiving, and we wanted to be with our families that day. So we celebrated early. Bo Lings was where we had our first date, so I was excited to go back. I had gotten my hair cut that morning (convenient), and had spent the day with my best friend picking out bridesmaids dresses for HER wedding. Oh, the irony.  All the other girls knew I was getting engaged that night. All of my friends and family were in on a big ol' secret, and I had no idea.

We spent all day getting dresses for her wedding.
Aaron had asked for my parents' blessing while I was away in Hannibal visiting Jenn. My dad recommended that Aaron ask me the day before Thanksgiving, so that we would see all of my extended family the next day to tell them the news. My friends had all known for the last week or so, including my roomie, Jen (I like people with this name), who had told me she was going to hang out at a friend's house for the evening. Sneaky, sneaky. I threw on a dress and waited for Aaron to come pick me up. When he showed up, I asked him to help me latch my bracelet, and he was acting kind of weird. He said that we had to stop by the church (where we met and were both members) on the way to dinner to lock something up. This wasn't strange, because Aaron was working part time at the church as facilities manager. Still, he was acting a little different.

When we got to the church parking lot, I asked him if I could stay in the car while he ran in. How funny would that have been? He convinced me to come in for a second. As he grabbed my hand, we walked up the stairs to the sanctuary, and I had kind of a weird feeling. As soon as we hit the sanctuary doors and I saw Aaron's sister, Angie, holding a rose and a canvas, I just starting crying. I knew what was happening. This was it.


Candles lined the sides of the aisle, and I could just make out the faces of some of my favorite people in this whole world. I walked up to each girl, and they said something sweet to me, gave me a hug and a rose, and showed me the canvases. Aaron had hand-painted each one, and they all had part of 1 Corinthians 13 written on them. On the back, he had written little personalized notes on our favorite memories or moments. When placed together, they all made the shape of a huge heart (at the top of this post). It was perfect.


My momma was there too.
As I walked down the aisle (the very same one I would walk down in another 7 months), I saw Aaron up on stage. My friend Rebecca and her future husband Mike (who weren't engaged yet) had driven all the way back from Colorado to be at our engagement, and Mike was playing worship songs on the acoustic guitar. Aaron had more roses in his hand, and well as a big box. As I walked up each step I was literally shaking in the boots I was wearing. Everything was about to change. Forever.


Aaron got down on one knee, told me something wonderful about spending the rest of our lives together, and then asked me to marry him. Naturally, I said yes. He opened the box and I saw the most beautiful ring I could have ever imagined. He'd picked it out himself. It was perfect, and meant so much more because Aaron was literally putting himself through college and had no job or income at this point. He had been scrimping and saving for months because he didn't want to get me something that was just okay. He wanted to do it right. And he did.


Sporting the new bling.
After all of the excitement and tears, we really did head off to Bo Lings, where we met up with both of our families and even more friends to celebrate! We even ran into the lead singer of the Newsboys, Michael Tait, so we had to snap a photo with him. It was perfect, we were engaged, and we were in love (though I love him even more now than I thought I did then). I was going to be Mrs. Aaron Kleinmeyer. This wasn't a dream.



What was so amazing about out proposal was that it was not only everything I had ever dreamed of, but it took place in our church sanctuary, where we had met, and where we would get married seven short months later. I'm so thankful that Aaron put so much time and thought into making this a special moment and making me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Every girl should have a story like mine, and I am so blessed.



Once again, God's plans for me were far greater than I had ever dreamed. His love never fails.

Do you have an amazing proposal story? Have you ever thought about what you'd want in a proposal? Hit me up in the comments below, or on our Facebook page. I'd love to hear your thoughts or answer any questions.

Currently,
Kelsie

21 comments:

  1. beautiful proposal story! Love that he did exactly what you wanted! I also wanted my ring and proposal to be a surprise! It is so worth it!!

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    1. Thanks so much, Angela! I love it that he did too. It was definitely so worth it- and I love surprises! Thanks for reading :)

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  2. Wow! He did such a great job on that proposal!

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    1. Agreed, Erin! I STILL can't believe he hand-painted all of those letters. What patience :) But after him being so patient with me finally dating him, I shouldn't be surprised! Thanks for reading!

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  3. what a beautiful proposal story! congrats and much happiness to you both :)

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    1. Thanks so much! We are coming up on our second wedding anniversary this week- time flies! Thanks for reading :)

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  4. well.. I'm crying.

    that was BEAUTIFUL, I love that story. The canvases, where he asked and why, friends being involved, that it was a genuine surprise.

    perfection! What a wonderful story to be able to tell!

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    1. Well thanks so much, Laura! I've got a good one for sure. Still kinda gets me sometimes. Stories are the best, and I'm blessed to have some really fun ones :) Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. Oh wow! He went all out, and definitely took your desires into consideration, which is very sweet indeed. My husband had to fly from America to Malaysia to meet my family and propose to me, so it was in no way at all a surprise. We didn't normally go on dates together, but that morning, we went out for breakfast all alone (the cheesy grins all over the faces of my family when we left for breakfast are imprinted into my mind in this day), and afterwards we went to the park, walked on a traditional Chinese acupressure path (it feels like torture), and then he got down on one knee and proposed. It was very low-key and not very romantic at all--which is perfect for us.

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    1. Wow, Rachel, that's amazing! It's great that it's exactly you guys- everyone is so different and there's nothing worse than feeling like you're doing something that's not really you. That's amazing that he flew over and met your family when he proposed. Thanks for reading and sharing :)

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  6. What a sweet story. So glad it was everything you dreamed of. All girls deserve that!

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    1. Thanks, Nicki! And I agree. I wish more girls knew what being pursued was like. Too many settle these days. Thanks for reading!

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  7. This was beautiful! What a great story to remember and cherish forever!

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  8. OMG this is so sweet! I was the same way about the surprise and not wanting to pick out my ring!

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  9. I LOVE proposal stories so much & yours is SO sweet. I love that he did it at the church where you met & you got married there too. I think every girl tries to unintentionally ruin things (by you not wanting to get out of the car), because I did that with my husband when he proposed to me & so many of my friends were the same way-it's too funny!

    xoxo, SS


    Southern and Style

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  10. What a sweet story! And I completely agree with you on the engagement, keep it a secret! Like you, I didn't want to pick my ring either, and that makes it so much sweeter now to know that my husband picked it out and designed it on his own! (Pretty impressive if you ask me!)

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  11. This is precious! My husband and I got engaged after being together for 8 months, and married 6 months later. It was totally meant to be. We are coming on two years of marriage now and also 3 years together. He's my favorite human. I picked my own ring out (I'm picky) but he planned the proposal and it was a complete surprise!

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  12. This is SO freakin' sweet, oh my goodness! I love how he took everything you wanted and implemented it in - these pictures are lifetime memories! Soo sweet!

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  13. I love reading proposal stories and yours is so sweet! I love that your husband incorporated your family and surprised you with your ring.

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