I get to marry this boy!
I've always said that no matter what, every girl wants a story for how she got engaged. The story varies for every couple, but i truly believe that every girl wants to be able to relive that moment in her mind over and over again. I think i mentioned that to justin once, and being the wonderfully romantic man that he is, he took it to heart and gave me the best story I could have ever asked for.
My engagement started Thursday night without me even knowing it. My mom called me and asked me if I wanted to go for lunch with her and some friends. Debbie (my mom's best friend) and her daughters Megan (one of my best best friends) and Emily had made reservations for Megan's birthday at Eat!, and they had invited my mom and I to come. This is the restaurant where my besties Janis and Krista work, along with Meg's brother Mat. I thought it was weird that we were going to Eat because it was for Megan's birthday, and she doesn't eat a lot of food there. I mentioned this to my mom but she seemed to think it would be ok (which makes sense now...)
We all had a lovely lunch! I had no idea anything was happening. They were asking me when I thought I was going to get engaged, I said I had no idea. They all knew, but I had NO idea what was coming next....
At the end of our meal, Mat brought out a brown envelope that said "for kari". I asked him what it was, thinking he was giving me a used book (Eat! is in aqua books which is a used bookstore). He said, "I don't know" and gave me an interesting grin. I took another look at the envelope and realized, "this is Justin's writing". I looked around for him, and then thought, "ok. he isn't sending me a card. he isn't asking me to go on a date with him. oh my! this is it!" I looked around at all the girls and they all had the BIGGEST smiles on their faces. I asked if they knew what it was and they just kept smiling. I started blushing because everyone was looking at me, and then I started crying because I realized what was happening.
Inside the envelope was a record (a single from Broken Social Scene) and a note. We have both enjoyed buying and listening to vinyl throughout our relationship, so this was a nice way to start things off! It looked like this...
I pulled the record out and it said, "kari! every engagement has a story...are you ready for yours? (turn over)/ ...you may now open the note. I love you Kari" I was feeling so overwhelmed, shocked and EXCITED! I have wanted to marry this boy almost the entire time we've been dating (nearly 2 1/2 years)! So I pulled out a little note, that looked like this...
Basically, the note instructed me to go to the place Justin took me the night he asked me to be his girlfriend - a loooovely French restaurant called Oui! So my mom and my mom's best friend drove me to Oui. When I got there, my mom came in with me. The host asked me if we needed a table, and I said I wasn't sure. I looked around and suddenly spotted my dad in the corner. This was such a nice surprise, because I have always been a daddy's girl. After more tears, the waiter brought out crème brûlée and coffee (a favourite of mine!) and another card. In hopes of trying to make the moments last, I decided to try and finish the crème brûlée before I read the card. This is what this scene looked like...
Post crème brûlée, I opened my card. It was sending me to another location that my dad needed to take me to. He told me to look for two items from our past. After figuring out where I needed to go, we headed to the city's legislative buildings. There is a humongous fountain that is at the back of these buildings, and it overlooks the river. Seriously one of my most favourite places in the whole city when it's lit up in the summer time! Upon driving up, I instantly spotted what Jus had left for me. Two ugly tumbler mugs.
Mugs that would mean nothing to anyone else, but to me they meant a lot and made me smile! We had taken them to the beach (stolen from his parents cabin) when we went star gazing for our first date. After running up and taking the note out, I read that I needed to meet him on the other side. This was the movie moment! I turned around the second I had finished the note and saw him walking towards me with one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen on his face :) I ran up to him, he got on one knee, and he proposed!
Of course, I accepted. Here's how I looked with the ring (so unbelievably beautiful) on my finger for the first time...
looking pretty gross...sigh! should have done my hair!
Afterwards we met up with our families and celebrated. I was just so intensely happy! I still smile every time I think about it. Really, it was perfect. It was everything I could have asked for. Jus knows me and it was so evident in the way.
Probably my second favourite part to the whole experience was the opportunity that I had to surprise my three best friends. Thankfully, Jus hadn't used them in the proposal - I have always wanted to be the one to tell them when it happened! We were all supposed to hang out anyways so it was perfect. Upon arriving 2 hours early, nobody was phased by my arrival. I started taking pictures of them, hoping they'd catch the ring and I'd get a good picture of them. I did...
i love this picture! so many things going on :)
I loved this moment. The screams! The choking (on Janis' end)! The excitement! It is really moments like these where you realize that your best friends really are the best friends you could ever have. Afterwards we skyped with Jus, made the yummiest of milkshakes, took some pictures, and looked at bridesmaids dresses.
A girl can't get much luckier! I am marrying my absolute best match (thankfully, he is just as excited as I am!), I have the best family, and of course I have the best friends. It was such a beautifulday. I can't convey how thankful I am to the people involved! [Especially Megan, who graciously shared her birthday with me!] I am so so so so excited to be engaged to Justin Oliver, and even more so excited to be his wifey!
Let the wedding planning begin!
