We’re Getting Married

Keenan proposed in our living room, in the first home we ever made our own, on our 6 year anniversary. Just the two of us, surrounded by fairy lights and balloons and the biggest bunch of flowers I have ever received, in the little studio apartment we made a home. It was so special that we got engaged here as this is our first place together. Of course, this apartment is ideal for just the two of us, but when we eventually start growing our family, we may need a bigger place. When that time eventually comes, we will probably contact some Mississauga realtors, or others in our local area, to help us find a family home. One of my friends used realtors and said that they were useful, so we will consider that in the future. Anyway, in our little apartment, I was being asked to get married. I cried and immediately got on my knees as soon as he went down on his – it was reflex! He just smiled and smiled and when I kept asking “who did this?” over and over again through my happy tears, eventually said “look at the ring!”

Just over 3 weeks ago, Keenan made my heart’s deepest desire come true when he asked me to marry him. Exactly six years before, as we weaved our way through a crowd of people at Rocking The Daisies, he had turned to me and shouted “I know we haven’t known each other that long, but I really like you and I don’t want you to be someone else’s girlfriend, will you please be my girlfriend?”. It went from him asking me that, to us soon to be hiring a photography firm similar to these engagement photos Blacksburg company to accompany us to our engagement party and collect all of our special moments before our marriage.

Even though he proposed on our anniversary, I had no idea it was coming. We’d had such a fun evening together, drinking cocktails with a view of the city we both adore. We spent the evening talking over dinner about our upcoming move to Kenya, our renewed excitement for each other and our relationship and generally just feeling loved up. It was just such happy and relaxed evening and I was falling asleep in the car on the way home. He hadn’t seemed even slightly nervous.

We’ve been so wrapped up in love and well wishes and flowers and planning sessions ever since and I can honestly say that I never could have imagined how lovely being engaged would feel. The idea that we’re officially planning the rest of our lives together, the phone calls and the video chats and the excited hugs from the people who love you individually and together – it’s honestly just such a special and happy time and we have been head-in-the-clouds since the 4th of October.

Keenan designed the most beautiful ring I have ever seen together with our talented friend Famke. He had an idea of my personal style, and he knew I wanted something unusual but timeless. They worked on the design for about 4 months and the result is something more beautiful than I could have ever dreamed up for myself. What makes it even more special is that it contains my grandma’s stone, which was a gift and a blessing from my mom. Knowing that both my mom and my grandma once owned this stone, which symbolized the love and longevity of my grandparents’ 60 year marriage, makes me cherish Keenan’s symbol of his forever love even more. Above all, I have always thought that engagement rings are so special and I am absolutely delighted with how mine has turned out. It still has not quite sunk in that this gorgeous engagement ring is mine.

Since we’re moving to Kenya at the end of the year, we’ve fast-tracked our planning a little bit. We’ve already set a date (January 9th 2021), secured our dream venue (The Lord Milner Hotel in Matjiesfontein), booked our photographers (Emma-Jane and Dylan from Lad & Lass) and planned our engagement party. We’re so excited about all the details, but we don’t want to spend our first 12 months in Kenya trying to plan a wedding back here in South Africa, so we’ve asked our friend Victoria from Evention to take the reins and help us feel like guests at our own wedding.

I really feel like being engaged is such a special time. I feel like our relationship has been taken to the next level, and we have definitely moved into a different space together emotionally. It’s just been really, really nice. I’ll be sharing my wedding plans here over the next few months, so I hope you’re excited to dream up this big day with us!