How We Got Engaged -- The Big Day

This Saturday marks our 5 year engagement anniversary.  Mom always says I should write these stories down so when I'm old and forgetful, I can look back on them and remember stuff.

You can read Part 1 here about the months leading up to engagement.

Before we get to that day, a little background...

March 2007 -- Jason and I had been dating a few months, and he took me home to Nebo to meet the family.  I had met his mom a month before when she visited Raleigh, but I met ALL the family on this trip.  It was so sweet... everyone came out on the front porch as we pulled up the driveway.  My guess is they knew they were meeting a future in-law that day.

On that trip, we drove up the mountain at the end of his parents' road, and he showed me a lot of places from his childhood.  We also visited Linville Falls.

That night, we went on top of a mountain by his parents' house called the Pinnacle to look at the stars.  We had gone to the planetarium on Valentine's Day a month before (nerd alert!), and so it was fun to once again look at constellations, this time in the real night sky.

That night was perfect... Jason brought his iPod and played music while we looked at the stars.  We even saw a shooting star!  It was also the night we first said "I love you" to each other.


Ok, fast forward to September 29, 2007 -- Jason and I were again visiting his folks, this time to drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway and go to Chimney Rock.  There had been a forest fire near the Pinnacle, so his dad suggested we stop by there.  Little did I know that was a GREAT suggestion!

As we hiked out to the Pinnacle, I said, "Do you realize we were here almost exactly six months ago?" Jason mumbled "yeah" and we walked on.  When we got there, Jason took two pictures and then asked if I wanted to sit down.  Ok, that was weird, because anyone who knows Jason knows he NEVER just takes two pictures of anything!  We find a bug, and we're taking pictures for fifteen minutes!

We sit down, and I can hear his heart beating like crazy.  Ok, I know we hiked here, but is he ok?  He reaches into his backpack.  All of a sudden, I realize what's going on.  He turns on his iPod, and tells me this song was playing the last time we were on the Pinnacle, right when we told each other we loved each other.  Then, we have this conversation.  There was a lot going on that day, so I have no idea if this is actually what was said, but this is how I remember it.

Jason: "Remember the shooting star we saw that night?"
Me: "Yes."
Jason: "Well, I made a wish on that star that night that you would become my wife one day.  So, [cracks open the box to the most gorgeous ring ever] will you marry me and become my wife?"
Me: "Yes!"

Then, we kiss, and he puts the ring on my finger.  I freak out that he is doing this on a mountain while my hand is shaking!  What if the ring fell off the mountain?!?

On the Pinnacle...

Literally minutes after he proposed

Did I mention we got engaged right around 8:30am?  You can still see the moon in the sky.

One of my all-time favorite pictures of us.  I didn't realize how well I was showing off the ring.  Plus, look at Jason's "Yeah, she's mine" look on his face.  Classic!

Next up:  Telling the families and more pictures from that day.