the perfect proposal

 

this was the most amazing day of my life.

here's a little background on how 

everything came about:

2013:

i went on a spring break trip with my girlfriends. we planned a road trip -- leaving colorado springs, driving to las vegas for 3 days, & then going on to san diego for a week.  

march 24, 2013, 

the last day we spent in las vegas, 

i met kevin.

he was there for a bachelor party & we were both staying at the flamingo hotel. we met that afternoon at the pool & stayed in touch from there on out. 

 that whole year consisted of him flying out to colorado to visit, me flying out to ohio to visit, & both of us meeting up in florida a few times.

2014:

kevin moved from cincinnati to colorado springs & we "officially" started dating. 

2015:

i was completely in love with him & had decided he was the one i wanted to marry. for christmas that year, kevin gave me 2 tickets to florida to spend a week there in march with his family. 

2016:

THE florida trip. 

we left march 21 to head down to fort myers for a week. the first day we got there, we relaxed, hung out at the pool, and watched a beautiful florida sunset. 

  

the second day we were there was THE day. me, kevin, his siblings, & his mom all went to the beach to hang out during the day & i was TOTALLY relaxed & loving life.

 

beth (kevin's mom) had mentioned before we left for the beach that we wouldn't be able to stay all day -- doug (kevin's dad) had made some reservations for the whole family to go out to dinner that night. so we stayed at the beach for a while, & then went home to get cleaned up & ready for dinner. 

 

we left the townhome a little bit before our reservation so that we could stop at the beach on the way to dinner & watch the sunset. it was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL evening. 

we brought some wine to sip on as we watched. little did i know, as i'm sitting here watching the sunset over the ocean, my family is sneaking up behind me on the beach.

 

i had no idea they were in florida.

kevin stands up and says, 

"tay, you wanna take a picture?"

 i say "yeah!" & stand up to walk down towards the beach a bit. i hear kevin's dad say 

(as my family is still walking up behind us) 

"you want the sun in your eyes -- look towards the sun". so at this point i still don't see my family. 

 well played, doug ... well played :) 

kevin turns me around, 

i see my family, 

he grabs my hand, 

drops down to one knee, 

 

& spends the next 30 seconds saying the sweetest & most perfect words 

i have ever heard.

i thought my heart might explode.

 

after squealing, 

jumping up and down, 

saying "YES YES YES!",

& giving him a kiss

 

 ... he put the most 

brilliant & dazzling

ring on my finger.

 

 

at that moment, the whole beach starts clapping & cheering for us.

 

everything about his proposal was perfect.

 

we break out a few bottles of champagne,

 

and the celebration begins!

 

i thank God every single day for bringing kevin into my life.

 

 the man i have been praying about for as long as i can remember asked me to marry him, 

& i could not have dreamed up a more 

lovely night to say "yes" 

to watching sunsets 

together for the rest of our lives.

 

  

 i am SO THANKFUL for all of the work that kevin did to make this night so unforgettable, AND to both of our families for taking the time & making the trip down to florida to be there for this special, special event.

the most PERFECT night of my life -- so far :)