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Jan 27, 2020

Our Story // The Bridge (The Proposal)



if you missed the beginning of our story, stop reading now and go back and catch up! (oh ok, you can read the proposal story, but then go back and catch up!)

to really tell the proposal story, we need to go back to the saturday before christmas.  aj and i had attended my aunt and uncle's annual ugly sweater party, and somehow we had gotten into the conversation that we had already beaten to death:  when were we finally going to be able to get engaged?  it was a conversation that we had been having seriously for at least a year, but this time was particularly bad.  aj had mentioned having a conversation with his parents, who expressed wishes that he not propose until after he finished college (which, because of transferring, could be as late as december 2015).  

we were driving back to his house to spend time with his cousins, when things just erupted.  i started crying about how long we still had to wait, and aj suggested we go park at our church and continue talking.  sitting in that parking lot, tears streaming down my face, aj tried and tried to end the conversation, but everything he said opened another can of worms.  finally, he convinced me that we should just stop talking about all of it, at least until after christmas, and then they could revisit the whole thing.  i agreed, and we spent the next few days leading up to christmas avoiding the conversation and getting ready for the holiday, including our church's 6 christmas eve services.

my responsibilities at our christmas eve services included cleaning up the building after the last one, so aj's aunt debbie (who is also my boss), assigned me to clean up an area of the church on the other side of the building from the main worship center.  as soon as the last service ended, aj's sister, amanda grabbed me and we headed to our assigned clean up area, where we began taking down lights and extinguishing candles.  meanwhile, our families were back in the worship center creating the perfect proposal spot.  eventually, debbie texted amanda saying that she needed our help with something in the worship center.  we paused what we were doing and headed down to see what she needed, and when we got there, debbie asked me to go into the room and blow out the candles that we had lining the stage.

as soon as i walked into the room, i burst into tears.  our 1,500 seat worship center was dark, except for some soft stage lighting, the candles on the stage, and luminaries lining every aisle.  a song by jeremy larson was playing (an artist that aj and i fell in love with the night we started dating), and rose petals were lining my path to the stage, where aj was standing just in front of a sleigh, waiting for me.  i started walking down the aisle and couldn't help but ask him, "is this really happening?"

aj guided me onto the stage and made me sit in the sleigh, where he began to talk about how much he loved me and how important both of our families were in our lives, because they had played a huge role in making that moment happen.  then, he took a little black box containing the most gorgeous ring ever out of his pocket and asked me to marry him!  there were even more tears (because i'm basically a faucet), and of course i said yes.  we spent a few moments just talking and then emerged from the worship center to a crowd made up of our families, who were all holding sparklers.  it was so special to have everyone that we love there with us on our big night, and we even got to have a mini engagement party at aj's house right afterward.

we've been engaged for just over a month and it still feels a little surreal!  our story is a little unique in the fact that we'll be long distance up until two weeks before the wedding, but so far, being engaged is pretty great....and i'm guessing being married will be even better!

thanks for reading our story!  so sorry you had to wait so long for the proposal...i just wanted to do it all justice by telling the whole thing from the beginning.  if you stuck with me all the way to part 4, then you're a rockstar!

52 comments:

  1. So sweet, Betsy! Sounds like it was perfect. Kyle and I were also long distance until he came home the Monday before our wedding (Philly to Illinois, then Philly to Colorado). Totally get the stress of planning without him by your side. It's (obviously) so worth it though, and you'll do a great job! Congrats again. :)

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  2. Beautiful story! Congratulations to y'all. What a special moment.

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  3. Okay - now i'm crying. Congratulations!

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  4. What a wonderful story, thank you for sharing it with us!

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  5. That is one of the sweetest things I've ever heard!! Congrats again girl! So happy for you and Aj! :)

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  6. being married is the best...you're going to love it!! i've loved reading your story---so sweet!

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  7. How wonderful! Congratulations.

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  8. How Beautiful! Thanks for sharing your story. It was fun reading it in parts, I look forwards to hearing the rest as it continues to unfold for you. Congratulations! :)

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  9. Sounds like he did an amazing job. :) Kyle and I were also long distance during our engagement, so I totally get doing the planning yourself. You'll do a great job! Congrats again!

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  10. What a beautiful proposal! Wow......goose bumps here!

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  11. Such a beautiful moment to cherish forever - congrats again!

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  12. Oh my goodness, so sweet! It sounds like it was beautiful and very memorable! Congratulations!!

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  13. That sounds like an amazing proposal!

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  14. A neat way to propose! I've enjoyed reading your story. Congrats!

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  15. This is so sweet! Congratulations!!

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  16. That proposal story is so cute! I love reading proposal stories! And at your church! What an even more special memory that'll be!

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  17. What a beautiful ending to the story!! A truly memorable proposal, made all the more special by it happening in your shared church, with your families around to celebrate with you! You were engaged in God's house, how awesome is that!! :)

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  18. Such a sweet story! Even as a newer reader it's so great to get to know you better through posts like this. If it's any consolation, my husband and I were long distance for the majority of our relationship, and for all of our engagement. It's an uphill battle at times, and definitely brings difficulties, but I can tell you that it makes being married and spending every day with each other all the more special. So know that it's worth it :-)

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  19. This is so beautiful!!!! What a great proposal! <3

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  20. awe, thanks Ashley! It really was great!

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  21. Thanks Kelly! We cannot WAIT until we get to fall asleep and wake up in the same state, let alone next to each other! We're lucky that we get to see one another typically every 2-4 weeks, but it kinda stinks to be in one of the most exciting seasons of our relationship and be spending it apart!

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  22. So true Rebecca! It is such a special place for us, and it's so great to see the stage weekly and have that memory!

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  23. It was such a great memory! I love it!

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  24. thank you! it still feels a little surreal! :)

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  25. Awe, thanks Anne! It was so beautiful! He did a great job :)

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  26. He did! It's not even the planning myself that I care about, it's just being apart! haha...I can't wait til we're together for good! :)

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  27. Thanks Felecia! I'll definitely be blogging about the wedding here and there! :)

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  28. Ah...I'm so excited for it! haha...we are SO ready to be married and in the same place and just doing life together!

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  29. Thanks Tayler! It is such a special memory!

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  30. Awe thanks Faith! We are so excited!!

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  31. Aw, yay! That's such a romantic proposal. More importantly, it was right for YOU.


    My husband and I lived about two hours apart until exactly four weeks before our wedding, when I moved in with him. Skype made planning everything easier. :)

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  32. YES! So excited for this new journey the Lord has for you both!

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  33. Ah! me too...obviously! haha
    Thanks Beth! :)

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  34. It so was...thanks so much! Yeah, AJ's been super laid back and just chill when it comes to planning, so that kind of helps as well! Plus, we were able to get all of the big stuff done before he went back to Boston!

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  35. this is so beautiful! I hope that wedding planning is going great for you! I was also in a long distance relationship right up til our wedding. It was exhausting at times, but gave me an awesome chance to get to know my mom and sister way better than I thought with all their help :)

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  36. I COMPLETELY understand! Saying goodbye never gets easier, even if it is for short periods of time. I just kept telling myself that God's got a reason for it, so it's for the best. That doesn't necessarily make up for it all, but it definitely helps bring some peace to the situation. Best of luck to you guys in the whole wedding planning process! & do your best to just enjoy it. Because all that really matters is that at the end of the day you'll be getting married to the love of your life! & there's not much that is sweeter than that : )

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  37. Oh my gosh!!!! I love that he proposed in your church :) How incredibly special!

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  38. <3 What a beautiful engagement story!!!

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