We are so pleased to introduce Brittany, a guest blogger for our “Real Brides” blog series. Brittany is recently engaged and living in NYC with her fiancé Eric. The couple is planning their wedding which will take place in Chicago. She will be sharing tips, inspiration and ideas on the Wedding Paper Divas blog for engaged couples who are navigating the world of weddings!
Hi, my name is Brittany, and I’m excited to share some of my experiences during this very exciting time with the Wedding Paper Divas community! My fiance and I are looking at the wedding planning process as a way to grow as a couple, have fun and ultimately, find creative and beautiful ways through décor and other details to celebrate our relationship. We’re pretty quirky, and hope to find ways to make the wedding representative of us, and fun for all involved!
First up in the series is the beginning of the path to Mr. & Mrs.: the proposal! Couples can pull inspiration from our story in that with a little imagination and thoughtful planning, there is a way to make a proposal incredibly unique and perfectly fitting of your relationship. I think this concept holds true whether you prefer a completely private engagement or one that goes viral.
And so our story begins… Eric and I had been dating for nearly five years and had talked about getting married one day. I’m a total sucker for a good engagement story, like this proposal video by Isaac Lamb , and over time, I had (not-so-subtly) relayed to Eric some proposal elements I’d hoped would be included. I wanted him to ask my parents’ permission ahead of time, and I wanted my family and close friends to be nearby, so we could all celebrate together. (Living out of state, I knew this would be no easy feat for Eric to orchestrate.)
On his end, Eric really wanted to pull off a surprise – so he planned, plotted, coordinated and sweated it out for months so he could one day say “Gotcha!”
As the day approached, I received a high urgency request from my friend Jenny to go bridesmaids dress shopping with Jenny’s mom after work on a summer Thursday. I thought it was a little weird, but chalked it up to bridal shenanigans.
The night before – Eric packed his bags to fly to Chicago for a wedding, on the first flight out the following morning. At 4:00am, like clockwork, Eric arose for his flight, kissed me goodbye and instead of heading to the airport, wheeled his bag to our friend’s apartment upstairs for a nap.
After work, I showed up as directed to Anthropologie in Rockefeller Center and started perusing dresses with Jenny and her mom – until they held up their phone and asked me to watch something that stopped me in my tracks.
#tbt to that time @_jprosenbaum helped my Feyoncé pop the question! @ericpeisenberg #bachelor #ericsfinalrose #epicproposal
A video posted by @brittanykyle101 on Oct 10, 2014 at 6:27pm PDT
Like any good Bachelor fan, I almost passed out, and had to watch the video twice to grasp what was happening. (Turns out Eric had told his colleagues about my love for the TV series, and one of them had a connection to JP Rosenbaum and asked him if he was willing to participate in the proposal!)
So then I was led into the plaza at Rockefeller Center, where Eric and I had had our second date ice-skating. It had been a great date, and the point at which Eric decided he really liked me, so he chose this iconic NY location for the moment!
Eric then materialized (a shock to the system, considering seconds ago, I was thinking he was in Chicago!) and pulled out adorable printouts of our adored nephews, who helped Eric get the words out.
Future ring bearers helped Uncle Eric pop the question tonight! Huge thanks to our family and friends (and a special video from JP Rosenbaum) for giving us a night to remember! So excited!!!
A photo posted by @brittanykyle101 on Aug 8, 2014 at 8:36pm PDT
As for Eric’s exact words, I can’t be too sure what he said, as I was in a Bachelor/proposal-induced blackout. I did catch the tail end, which was “Will you marry me?” and “Did I getcha?”
The answer to both questions was a resounding YES.
The incredible evening was capped off by a dinner with family and friends. Eric had coordinated both sets of parents to fly in from Chicago, with siblings and friends helping us celebrate. (Our friend Monica, creator of Monica Hues nail decals , was even there to jazz my nails up with her super cute engagement decals!)
Eric strategically planned every detail, creating an unforgettable start to a wonderful road ahead!
See more Wedding Paper Divas Inspiration
- Picking the Date and the Wedding Venue
- Ideas For Planning the Perfect Bachelorette Party
- How To Pop The (other) Question – Asking Bridesmaids to Be in your Wedding
