We are engaged!
I popped the question to Cory. We are more in love than ever and are committed to spending the rest of eternity together. We are looking at an April wedding!
Cory and I had been talking about getting married and decided that we did want to spend forever together sometime in mid-December 2011. We went ring shopping after Christmas and decided to do a custom ring, which was going to take about a month. So the month rolls along and every week we meet with the jeweler to check on the progress of the ring. Then, a week before the ring was supposed to be done, I got a call that it was finished ahead of schedule. I quickly realized that I could propose a week before Cory was expecting it, so I started planning.
It was our 10 month anniversary, so I told Cory that I had planned a special date for the occasion as a smokescreen for my real intention, which was to propose. Before the date, I practiced proposing to my roommate, Joseph, in our apartment. I thought out and practiced exactly what I wanted to say to her when I went to one knee, because I don't believe in all that talk-off-the-top-of-your-head nonsense. Winging it is not romantic to me. A purposeful, planned-out, thoughtful expression of my love for her was what I wanted to do. So I practiced with Joseph. He said "yes" to me each time to boost my confidence. #Bros4Life I also practiced hugging him multiple times with the ring box in my jacket pocket because I was afraid Cory would feel it bulging through my coat. The box was seriously so freaking massive. I hated it. It was unnecessary, to say the least. #SmallerBoxPlease The entire night I had to make sure that Cory was only on my right side, because the box was in my left pocket and its gravitational pull would have sucked Cory into its dark void. It was like I had an abdominal tumor. Am I talking too much about the box? #SorryNotSorry
Cory lived in the attic apartment of the blue house when we started dating, and we spent a lot of time sitting out on the roof. It was where we decided to start dating, and where we had our first kiss, so I wanted it to be where I proposed. Problem: Strangers were now living in that house. I went over and explained to the girls living there that I wanted to propose to my girlfriend who used to live there on the roof of the apartment...and I didn't want them there interrupting my master plan. They became very giddy and all made plans to go out for a few hours that night, and went on and on about how romantic that sounded. #SorryLadiesImTaken So the groundwork was laid, and it was time for the main event.
I picked Cory up and took her our for some hot chocolate, and then we went to get some cupcakes, always making sure she was standing on my right side. #TumorProblems I had gotten her a cupcake on pretty much every month anniversary we had together, so it fit in well with the 10-month anniversary theme. We headed up to the roof and she was confused why we were up there when she didn't live there anymore. I told her that I talked to the girls and that we weren't going to be bothered. Then we sat down and ate our cupcakes and drank hot chocolate (It was February so it was freezing outside). It was then that I realized we were sitting down, but I needed both of us standing up, so that I could kneel on one knee. So I asked her to dance with me, which was the only thing I could think of, but we didn't have music, so it was just us swaying back and forth in silence. We started talking about our feelings and our future, and I expressed to her how much I felt like I could trust her and open up to her about anything, and share my thoughts and feelings with her at all times. I mentioned how I felt like I could always talk to her. It felt like the right time to do what I had already practiced time and time again. #ShowTime
I knelt down and pulled the enormous ring box out. Cory immediately put her hands to her face and I started my speech. Problem: Whatever came out of my mouth was not my planned speech. #TongueTied I knew for a fact that Cory wanted to marry me. There was no question in my mind that she was going to say "Yes!", but I still felt so nervous! A wave of fear kind of came over me and I got flustered. The significance of what I was about to ask her hit me like a ton of bricks. I was basically asking her to trust me with the rest of her life. So down on one knee, with the ring box open, I blanked. I ended up saying something to the effect of, "Cory....will you...talk with me....forever?" WHAT? WHAT WAS THAT? WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? THIS IS NOT WHAT WE PRACTICED! All these thoughts ran through my head immediately after those words came out of my mouth. Cory immediately said, "YES!" and started leaning forward to hug me, but I couldn't let her. Redemption was needed. I stuck my arm out, stopped her, and said, "Wait. That isn't what I wanted to say." #DoOver
So I made her stand there while I closed the ring box, and opened it back up, and delivered my practiced speech. It was incredibly anti-climactic, and ironically I no longer remember what I even said, even though at the time it seemed so important to me. I only remember, "Cory....will you...talk with me....forever?" #Idiot
I can only laugh looking back on it. I don't think she even thought anything was weird with my proposal until I made her wait for me to do it over. She definitely didn't know that I would be proposing that night, so it was fun to surprise her a week earlier than she thought possible.
Was that too much information? If it was then DEAL WITH IT BECAUSE I'M IN LOVE AND I DON'T CARE WHO KNOWS IT!
