I spent the majority of the week of December 18th convincing Mollie that I wasn’t going to ask her to marry me before she left on her trip to North Carolina. She was aware that I was having a ring made for her, and hence proposing, but it wasn’t going to arrive in time. Mollie was leaving on Winter Break and going back to North Carolina for two weeks. A perfect time to plan a wedding in North Carolina…assuming I asked her in time.

So, I tried to let her down easy, but it was killing me. The fact was, the ring wasn’t going to arrive in time, but I had a backup plan. I hunted around and found the biggest fakie plastic ring I could. You know the kind of ring; they’re usually on a spinning rack that sits in front of the checkout register at Walmart. It came zip-tied to a plastic hanger, and I just couldn’t imagine proposing without some kind of presentation box, so I had to make a trip to the mall. After harassing every jeweler in the Fashion View Mall, I found another fakie ring that came in a box of its own. I was good to go.

Initial

Friday night rolled around, and we headed out for one final meal before she left on vacation. She was noticeably sad, knowing that our engagement wouldn’t be starting in time for her trip home. It was killing me, but it had to be done. We finished our meal early, and had some time left, so we walked the strip like we’ve done countless times before. After an hour or so we convienently ended up in front of the Mandalay Bay, at a special and romantic (by Vegas standards) spot surrounded by waterfalls and greenery.

Ring in hand.

Say some sweet things (previously planned).

Down on one knee.

She said yes!

(smooch)

Handinhand

Mollie’s real ring arrived in the mail only a couple days after she departed. It would have to wait in my drawer for two weeks before finding its permanent home on Mollie’s finger. I can’t say enough good things about my Uncle and the job he did making it. Its absolutely perfect, just what we both wanted!

So, now we are just starting to understand whats involved with wedding planning. The date picked is March 31st of this year, corresponding with Mollie’s spring break. We have a couple tenative places that would work wonderfully, and the registering process is beginning. I have a feeling we are just dipping our toes into the ocean of planning required for this event! So far, its been exciting and fun, and I hope to keep it that way.

Whooee!