As he got down on one knee, all I could think was, “No. No. No, this isn’t happening.”

My now fiancé (still SO weird to say that) and I have been together for nearly six years. Naturally, over the last three or so, people have gotten more and more pushy about asking when we’re going to get engaged and/or married. Tip for anyone dealing with this: Next time someone asks you, tell them they just added another six months.

We had talked seriously about our future together for the last few years but it wasn’t until this past spring that we started talking about when exactly we might want to get engaged. Richie was leaning toward within six months, I wanted to wait until after his brother got married (he got engaged in January 2020). I guess it’s a good thing we didn’t wait because they still haven’t even started planning due to the pandemic.

We agreed that I would officially start looking for my dream ring (more on that in another post) and let him know once I had the details. So, over the next few weeks, I found my perfect engagement ring through Heidi Gibson, showed my mom, gave him the details and then pretty much went on with life. We joked about our eventual engagement but between COVID-19, job changes, us getting a dog and then moving, we weren’t—well, I wasn’t really thinking it would happen any time soon.

In December, since I was working from home, I was able to take advantage of the situation and fly to California to spend the month with my family. I typically only see them twice a year so these added few weeks were a huge bonus, and it allowed me to quarantine with them.

Richie always flies out to stay with my family before Christmas so, this year, we decided we’d take a mini trip to go skiing and snowboarding in South Lake Tahoe. We’d been a couple of years prior for a music festival and loved it, plus we figured it was an activity that would allow us to stay in our little bubble. Richie then suggested that we could hit the slopes one day and walk around the lake the day after, which sounded perfect to me.

Last minute, we decided to drive out Wednesday evening because Tahoe was supposed to get a ton of snow the next morning and we didn’t want to worry about driving the treacherous mountain roads through a storm. Thank god we did because they got around six inches Wednesday night alone!

We found a lodge near Heavenly Ski Resort and it was the perfect cozy cabin-esque stay with a working fireplace, lots of natural wood and two bedrooms and bathrooms (??). We were just so excited to go on this mini-vacation after nearly a year stuck inside our 600 sq. ft. apartment. After a cozy night in, we hit a thrift shop for goggles and a jacket...yup, I realized I’d forgotten the winter jacket I was going to borrow from my mom so had to buy one before we headed to the mountain. Once we were properly bundled up, we skied and snowboarded and chugged some Fireball airplane bottles on the lifts. I may have taken a tumble or seven down the mountain but, in all, we had the best time we’d had in a while and I know that’s not only due to our pandemic-stir-craziness.

That night, we checked into our tiny, modern Airbnb and grabbed pizza from a place near the resort—if you ever make it to Base Camp Pizza Co., try the Pear & Gorgonzola pie. Friday morning, we found a place to grab breakfast, which happened to be right by a chai spot. Richie encouraged me to get some and I remember thinking he seemed like he was in such a good mood.

As we drove to the lake, he suggested I take off my dad’s 20-year-old UCLA sweatshirt, which I’d been wearing under a gray open cardigan I stole from my mom, because it wouldn’t look as good in pictures. I said, “but then my front bits will get cold!” Seriously...that was my response. And then I questioned his logic because we’d definitely be taking selfies so who would even notice my torso? Lucky for me (I’ll get to it), I decided to just go along with it since he never makes a big deal about stuff like that so figured I could appease him this one time. Seriously, no inkling on my end.

When we got to Camp Richardson, we meandered along the beach and through the woods, looking at the historic buildings and, if you’re me, taking a ton of pictures and videos. We started to walk back along the beach and I decided to take a video, which now I’m so glad I have. The scenery is gorgeous, I look super happy and, the best part is, you can see Richie 15 feet ahead of me, trying to be patient as he ushers me toward the dock where he’ll propose.

We get to the dock and I start walking toward the end, but Richie says we should wait where we are ‘til a guy and his dog left that area. I figured he meant due to COVID so I was fine with it, and then immediately got distracted when they walked back because it was the cuuuutest dog!

Once we were alone on the dock, we were staring at the scenery and then Richie started saying some nice things...sorry, one, I semi-blacked out despite always vowing not to à la Leslie Knope in Parks and Rec, and, two, some things should remain private anyway. He ended it by saying, “You’ve been my best friend for six years and I’ve been wanting to ask you this for a long time. Will you marry me?”

Around that sentence, he had started reaching into his jacket pocket and I just started saying, “Stop. No. What are you doing? Stop. Are you joking?” And then he actually got on one knee and displayed THE most gorgeous ring I have ever seen and will ever see. I think he had to ask if I said yes because I was utterly speechless.

After he put the ring on and we kissed and hugged, he turned me around to show me the two photographers on the ground, Blue Lotus Photography, taking our pictures. We went to meet them and I found out he had booked them for a whole engagement session post-proposal. It was at this point that I was kind of regretting not wearing a single article of my own clothing and not showering or putting makeup on that morning. However, if you find yourself in this situation, just roll with it!

I’ve since realized that I’ll forever cherish these photos, no matter what I look like because it was in the moment and I can look back at the very moment we agreed to spend the rest of our lives together. Damn, I got so lucky. Plus, we can always book a future engagement session, which I fully intend to so that our dog can be included this time.

After the session, I bombarded Richie with questions because I couldn’t believe he had actually surprised me. The person who has been in the wedding industry for over six years and who stares at photos and videos of proposals every. single. day. Side note: Can you imagine the pressure he was under to live up to my subconscious expectations?? I think he totally blew them out of the water.

Turns out, even though I told him not to ask my dad for his permission (because I’m not a piece of property, I’m a human being), he talked to my dad last June and asked for his blessing. I’m now really glad he did because my dad is old-fashioned so it was more for him anyway. He originally planned to propose at our favorite winery but, due to the shutdowns, that plan went out the window. He also had been designing the ring since around August or September and had it sent to his brother’s home where my future sister-in-law could keep it safe. His brother, his brother’s fiancé and his mom were the only ones who knew it was happening on this trip, not even my parents knew. I’m still shocked that he was able to pull it all off without me ever getting an inkling.

We drove back to my parents’ after this and that’s when I called my parents, his mom, my brother, his brother and his brother’s fiancé. My mom stared at my hand for so long without seeming to realize, I had to ask if the screen was frozen and his brother’s fiancé answered the phone with a smirking “Helloooo!” I immediately started laughing.

In fact, I always thought I would burst into tears when I got engaged or, at least, when I told people. While I did tear up during the proposal, it wasn’t until we called Richie’s stepmom that I really got teary-eyed. His dad suddenly passed away last fall so, while I’m so glad I knew him and he got to annoy me for years, it broke my heart realizing he wouldn’t be there for this or any of the wedding events.

I’m not trying to end this on a sad note so I’ll just say, do things exactly the way you want to do them. We were perfectly happy not being engaged and never wanted to rush into things. Now we’re perfectly happy being engaged but we’re also planning to have a long engagement. Don’t let others’ opinions dictate how you live your life and love your people hard! You never know what’s going to happen so be grateful for every moment you spend with the ones you love and try to cherish them as they happen.

xo,

Katie