Every summer I always think back to the day that Lance asked me to marry him. It was probably one of the best days of my life. We've been married 2 years now, and I've thought to myself, if any guy is looking for proposal ideas, this would be a great concept for a perfect southern proposal.
The Back Story:
Although, we have known each other for almost 6 years. I met him when he was 21 and I was 19. My cousin introduced us one fall weekend when I was
home from college, and it's been a ride ever since. I remember being immediately attracted to him the first time I saw him-even with braces. Haha! It really was love at first site.
Lance played baseball and pitched for the South Alabama Jaguars. It was hard trying to maintain
a relationship when we both went to different colleges so far apart, but we never lost touch. He
got drafted to the Detroit Tigers his senior year. He had to move off, and I was sure we were doomed. We've had our ups and downs just like every couple. It was only in the spring of 2011 that Lance got a shoulder injury and had to move back home. That May was when we really decided to do things right, and we have been together ever since. I graduated from grad school in 2013 and Lance graduated from Law School in 2015. We both wanted to be out of school, and have a job before we tied the knot!
The Proposal:
He and I would talk every now and then about proposals. I think he knew I had high expectations. But really, what girl doesn't want her proposal to be perfect and completely what she's dreamed about. Mine was just that!
You know the episode of Sex and the City where Carrie finds the ring Aiden has hidden and it is
just not "her". Probably one of the biggest decisions a guy has to make is finding the perfect ring
that fits her personality perfectly and cooking up the right proposal that describes your relationship with her perfectly. Mine was just that!
Over the 5 to 6 years that I've have known Lance, the number one place that we had spent the most time together was outdoors at his camp.
July 19 2014:
Lance really wanted to take me to Fairhope. Fairhope, Alabama is one of my favorite places in the
world. He took me shopping, we went and got coffee... all of the regular things I love to do in
this town. I of course, completely unknowing of the future events that he had planed, I demanded
that we swing by a couple of places and look at rings... again. He went right along with it. Later
that afternoon, we walked down to the Fairhope Pier and enjoyed the sunset. We ended the
evening eating at my favorite sushi place. I wanted to stay and watch a movie that I knew Lance
wanted to see as well. He made the comment to me that he really didn't feel like watching a
movie. I may or may not have made a big deal about leaving Fairhope. I for one never like to leave Fairhope. Finally, we were back off to Chatom, my home town.
Lance kept saying something about stopping by his camp before we went home. I didn't really
understand why we had to stop by his camp at this exact time, but I just went with it. I persisted
that we pick up my dog before we went. His excuse was that he had to check on a corn field his
dad had planted a while back. Doesn't that sound like fun? I have to admit, I was a little disinterested.
When we arrived at the gate, Lance realized that there was a note on the gate. At this time, I
wasn't paying much attention...that is until he came back to the truck and gave me the letter. The Letter was written to me from Lance.
It read..
"Hope you've had a great day. I'm sure you're wondering what's going on at this point. Truth is, I
wanted us to have a memorable day together to make up for lost time over the last few years.
Speaking of memorable, this property has produced a good bit of ours. How many memories do
you have out here? If you're having trouble remembering, search for more cards like this one as we ride into time."
So we rode. We went to SEVEN different spots around his property each location was decorated
with a white card. Every card took us back in time to a memory, including the location of our
first kiss! As the cards were winding down, and I knew we were about to arrive at the last
location, I started to get nervous. Surely he wasn't going to propose this night. I was expecting a winter proposal. We came back around the hollow that we had just passed a few moments
before. The first time we passed by, there was nothing but darkness. The second time we drove
by, a huge magnolia tree was light up like I have never seen before. Lights were everywhere. It felt like an enchanted forest.
~All I had was my iPhone to take pictures that night, and I'm telling you these picture do not do this setting justice. Lance and I recreated the scene for the engagement pictures.~
My breathe was taken away. This tree literally looked like it came right out of Pinterest! As we
walked up to the tree, I remembered thinking this tree wasn't like this the first time we drove by,
and there's no way he did ALL THIS "just because" ... Something is bound to happen. We sat on a picnic blanket that he had so thoughtfully prepared. We talked a couple of minutes and finally I said jokingly, "Well if you wanted to propose to me, this would have been perfect" "Well you can check my pockets. I don't have a ring.," he said. I did, and there was nothing there. Ok, I have to admit, at that point I was a little let down. We talked some more. Lance surrendered some of his most intimate thoughts. We then realized this was the very tree we had carved our names in three years ago.
Lance asked me to come over to were our initials were tattered in the bark from years past. He proceeded to give me a very last card, which read...
"Morrell, Thank you so much for being you. Thank you for standing behind me and supporting me. Without you, there is no we. Don't you think it's time we become family? ...I do! So face me as I take a knee. Let me express my love before we carve the "B".
I was of course hysterically crying at the point. As I read his letter he grabbed a ring box out of
the tree and knelt to one knee. I of course said yes, he arose, and we kissed!
Later we drank champaign and carved the very last "B" in the tree.
It was absolutely beautiful!
Words can't describe how breathtaking this night was to me. I am so blessed to have a man that cares about me so much that he would go through all of the trouble in the world for this day. It was a prefect proposal!
I am so happy to share this moment with you!
Here's a couple of quick and easy steps to help guide you through the perfect southern proposal.
1. Keep the Element of Surprise-Never let let her know it's coming
2. Use a venue/setting that is meaningful to your girl- Lance used his land where we always spent time together and then noted each special spot.
3. Set the Scene- Going over and beyond to make the scene perfect will make that moment that much more special. Lance lit up an entire magnolia tree with mason jars, lights, candles, and then placed a blanket and a some champagne underneath.
4. Tie in an everlasting element- We carved a "B" into our tree that will be there forever.
5. Love Notes- Lance had a small note for each spot we stopped. I will have those as a keepsake forever.
6. Family or no Family- What is important to your lady? Would she prefer her parents and family be there? If so, then please invite them to the background when the engagement is taking place. If you're shooting for something much more intimate, let it just be you two alone.
7. Drop to One Knee- this is the one that may seem cliché but trust me…it is necessary. Even non-traditional women will tell you this is a given. It's your easy chance to be charming and romantic.
8. Tell Her Why You Want to Marry Her- Lance told me while he was down on one knee, but I hardly remember any of it because of the excitement. Be ready to repeat yourself for years to come. ; )
9. Have the appropriate drinks on hand for a true southern celebration- especially if you are inviting over guests afterwards for a surprise engagement party.
10. Last but not least, make sure you've asked her parents before you pop the question... like a true southern gentleman.
From my closet to yours, Thanks for stopping by!
-Morrell
