WE'RE ENGAGED!!!

Alright. For those of you that want to know the juicy details here it is!

Ever since my parents have announced their upcoming move to New Zealand, Geoff and I have been having some serious talks. To be totally honest, we both knew REALLY early on that this day would come. So it was really just a matter of time. We knew we had to make it through next year with as little major distractions as possible, both because of the importance of the competitive seasons and because of Geoff is just starting grad school. Plus, family means a lot to me. I didn't want to reach any major milestones in our relationship while my parents were out of the country. We had basically decided that we would get married in the fall of 2013. So our two options we were left with were wait to get engaged after my parents returned from NZ and have a super short engagement, or get engaged now and have a really long engagement. I get stressed enough with everyday life, so the longer we have to plan the wedding the happier I'll be. :)

So I knew things were coming, I just had no idea it would be this soon! I knew Geoff was going to have an important talk with my Dad last weekend. He didn't tell me, but it was the only time we were guaranteed to see my parents before they left the country. It didn't take much guessing. Once both my parents knew, we started celebrating and it kind of felt like we were already engaged. But Geoff needed to talk to his family too before we made things official. It worked out that he had to leave Pinehurst before me to make it to some meetings at ETSU. So my mom brought me back on Thursday and we met Geoff in Banner Elk. There is a gorgeous river just outside of downtown that is a special place for the two of us. We had one of our first dates there, and it is a place where we both had the first inkling of how great things would be. :) We parked by Geoff's car and his only instructions were for me to come find him. My mom waited in the car, and I set off down the trail. Once I spotted him in the middle of the river, it seemed like it took FOREVER for me to make my way out there to him over all the rocks. He was waiting with a blanket, two champagne glasses, and the Bruno Mars song 'Marry Me' playing on his iPod. He filled the champagne glasses with apple cider he had kept chilled in the river and asked me right out there on the rock. So perfect!!

But the best part was THE RING! We are designing our own ring using diamonds from my both of my grandmothers' rings, plus some from my mother. I'm so excited that my ring with have true sentimental value. I definitely wish my grandparents could have met Geoff, but this way I think that they will always be with us. Unfortunately we can't afford the setting that we want just yet. So in the few days while I was in Pinehurst and he was back in TN he was working hard, unbeknownst to me. This is what he proposed with:

I LOVE it!! Absolutely!! It is so perfect! We have also decided that I will wear one of my grandmothers rings in the meantime to make it seem officially official. (In case there were any doubters... :) ) And he also made me a small ring out of hemp that I can wear to practice in. So I am never at a loss for rings to wear! :)

As we said, the wedding will be a long time coming. Fall of 2013, in Pinehurst at my parents house on the lake. So start planning time off now! We probably won't set a date for a little while. We will have to schedule the wedding around our competition seasons... Of course. Haha. Those of you that have already been through the wedding planning process- any and all advice is welcome!! I took one look at the wedding books at Barnes and Noble and was instantly overwhelmed... Good thing we have plenty of time. We'll find out how good we are at procrastinating....