So happy to finally be sharing the details of this very special day with you guys! It’s been a few weeks since our engagement and after the initial shock of actually getting engaged, I dove right into the world of wedding planning so this post is a bit overdue 😉 I honestly catch myself thinking back to this trip so much and just how full my heart felt that weekend. This one is going to be a long one so grab a snack lol!
Our story actually starts two weeks before our vacation when Daniel spilled the beans that he had planned a surprise vacation for us! Okay, at this point I probably should have known something was up and believe me, all of my family and close girlfriends immediately thought that this was “it.” But we’ve been together for a long time and although I had a feeling it was coming this year after he finished grad school, I really didn’t expect it to be so early in the year.
The next two weeks were torture not knowing where we were going – I’m a huge planner and I love planning out all of my outfits for a trip lol. He kept teasing it was somewhere cold and chilly, but in my heart I just knew it had to be somewhere sunny. I just live for some sunshine. When we arrived at the airport, I discovered my intuition was right – we were headed to beautiful sunny San Diego!!! The weather forecast was perfect that weekend we seriously could not have had better weather. (So happy 🙂 ) We grabbed our rental car and headed to the hotel. If there’s something you must know about me, I love the beach. LOVE. Happiness for me is a sunny beautiful day by the water with my toes in the sand. (Preferably in a cute romper and a sun hat 😉 ). We pulled up to the gorgeous Hotel Del Coronado and it seriously took my breath away. I had no idea this little gem existed in San Diego! Our hotel room had this amazing coastal view – I feel like I said “omg” a million times that day because I was just so touched by all of the planning he had done for this trip.
After settling in and spending some time on the beach, we headed to dinner at Bankers Hill Bar and Restaurant. During dinner, he told me he had another little surprise for us the next day. He had arranged a private sail for us around the San Diego Bay *just cue the watery eyes please*. I’ve always wanted to go sailing and the fact that he worked this into our vacation was so thoughtful. See that’s one of the things I love the most about Daniel. He really pays attention to all the things that make me happy – no matter how big or small they are. I had a little feeling now that maybe, just maybe this was *the* weekend.
The next morning, we headed to Hillcrest for brunch and then came back to the room before sailing. Daniel told me I should dress casual for the sail. (I kind of thought at this point that maybe my feeling was wrong because I always pictured myself in a cute dress when we got engaged LOL not casual 😉 ). I threw on a white off the shoulder romper and we walked down to the port to our sailboat.
Sailing was amazing. Absolutely breathtaking and amazing. You know those moments where you just take a step back and think.. Life is beautiful? Well, this was one of them. It was a gorgeous day and it was sunny with the breeze running through our hair and I just couldn’t help but smile as he held me overlooking that water.
So as many of you know, the proposal didn’t happen on the boat. I found out later that he was scared something crazy would happen (the ring dropping over the side of the boat, me falling off the boat, etc lol). After we headed back to the hotel, he told me he had another little surprise for us before our dinner reservations and that I should put on a nice dress. And that’s when I think I just knew. I just got the craziest feeling in my stomach – so nervous, so anxious.
My last selfie as a single woman 😉
Loved the low back on this floral maxi!!
I quickly touched up my makeup and we headed down to… the beach. And that’s when I saw this..
Rose petals surrounding a fire pit with s’mores and champagne <3 He dropped down to one knee as soon as we reached the fire pit. I have to say that after he said my name and popped the question, it all became such a blur. He lifted me into his arms and we hugged for what felt like years. In that moment time had stopped and we were just in the sweet bliss of our engagement.Daniel told me he knew he wanted to take me back to the beach to propose because it was during that first walk we took on the beach so many years ago before we even officially became a couple that he “knew” I was the one. We settled into the chairs set up on the beach and we toasted our champagne and roasted some s’mores while reminiscing about the last five years we have spent together. Truly five and a half beautiful years that I have been so fortunate to spend with someone that is not only the love of my life but my very best friend. Someone that has inspired me to be a better person.. and someone who has loved me in ways I never even knew I needed to be loved. He came into my life at the perfect time and his unconditional love has made me the woman I am today. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have someone like Daniel. I can honestly say he is the best person I know – inside and out. You know he has all those qualities you would want in a husband – he’s smart, hardworking, incredibly sweet and romantic, but above all he has such a good heart. I love him more than I could ever put into words.
After soaking in that moment, we facetimed and called our parents who were of course thrilled!! Daniel had sneakily asked my dad for permission a month before our trip. This was something that was really important to me – and I think it’s so sweet that my parents knew this was coming. Then we texted all of our loved ones and decided to keep it off of social media until the next day. I really felt this let us enjoy this moment in our lives with our nearest and dearest <3
We went to Island Prime for dinner and it was one of the best meals I’ve ever had (probably because of how completely elated I was but hey, that crab cake definitely made my top 10 list). We just couldn’t stop smiling and talking about how excited we are for this next year. The amount of love we received via text, call, and facetime was absolutely overwhelming. We really can’t believe there are so many people in our lives who love us so much and have watched our relationship grow over the years. So ready for this wonderful year before the big day 🙂
And that’s how he asked. It was seriously perfect – a proposal from my dreams and so carefully thought out. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.
I hope you enjoyed this post on a very intimate moment in my life – it was great sharing this with you 🙂 Over the next year, I’m planning to start a mini series on my blog about my wedding planning process and I can’t wait to take you along with me! Til next time xoxo!