Yep! It happened. Even as I write this  I still don’t think it has officially sunk in yet. I feel so grown up when I look down at my ring — then I laugh because I know it’s me and I feel like I’m the farthest thing from being grown up. I’ve drank more champagne these past two days then I have in my entire life, but I’m not complaining.

Lots Of Champagne!

Let’s rewind a little. The boyfriend — or excuse me — the fiance (weird) popped the question on Christmas Eve. This was pretty brave considering it was in front of 20+ family members all in town for the holidays. It was perfect though and exactly what I wanted. I remember being six years old and seeing my uncle propose to my aunt in front of all of us and I always liked that. I also always wanted to say “I got a diamond for Christmas” so this was one of the main reasons for the Christmas time engagement.

Apparently everyone knew about the proposal except for me. When I walked into my Grandma’s house that night (which was the scene of the crime), my uncle told me “We’re going to have a toast to the December birthdays tonight since we tend to get overlooked this time of year.” (My birthday was the 16th, his the 23rd.)

OK I thought, I’m all for a champagne toast so count me in!

After dinner, by uncle started rounding everyone up in front of the Christmas tree for this “toast”. I sat on the couch with one of my little cousins in my lap. My uncle toasted to the December birthdays, made a few quick jokes and then rather weirdly at the end asked “Does anyone else have anything they’d like to add?” Right then the boyfriend (at the time) came walking around from behind me and said “I’d like to add something…” As I turned to face him I saw him pull out a little box and then get down on one knee right in front of me.  By this time everyone in the room was cheering loudly. I heard him say “Will you marry me?” as everyone screamed and whistled all around us. By the time I got a good look at the ring, I had tears in my eyes and was sweating from having so many eyes on me.  I was nervous and shaking! I guess I didn’t say anything at first (I don’t really remember) and later on in the video you can hear my mom scream “SHE SAID YES!” for me since apparently I wasn’t  able to speak for myself at the moment! He put the ring on my finger and I remember flipping out since I’d obviously never seen it before. Then I jumped up and hugged and kissed him while everyone continued to cheer.  It was absolutely perfect.

Proposal play-by-pay.

After that came tons of hugs and well wishes from aunts and uncles and grandparents. A tribe of little cousins admired my ring while hanging from my arm asking “What will your new last name be?”. The fiance and I snuck a kiss or two while we hugged and cheers’ed everybody. One of my brothers gave us a bottle of champagne (since of course he was in on it too). Then I called and sent out pictures to all my best friends. The fiance sent out a text to his friends and family that said “The deed is done”.

It was absolutely perfect — the proposal, the family setting, the ring, the celebration. I am stunned. I’m not sure how much happier I can get! My fiance and I are on cloud nine and absolutely thrilled. The ring has a diamond in it that has been in my family for over 200 years. The diamond itself is part of an original set of  earrings that was worn in the 1800s. My middle name is Beatrice, which was my Great Grandmother’s name. The diamond was worn by Beatrice herself, but at that time it was still a pair of earrings. The diamond is one of the earrings and has now been reset into a beautiful platinum silver band. Just knowing that this diamond has been in the hands of so many great relative females is so special to me. (I hope I do them proud!)

Now everyone is asking us when the wedding is going to be. Pre-engagement we had talked about it being summer of 2015 and that’s still the plan. No official date yet, but we have plenty of time for planning. Right now we are just trying to live in the moment and celebrate this time in our lives. On Christmas Day the fiance and I were alone in the kitchen refilling some champagne glasses (of course). One of my brothers walked in as the fiance and I kissed between sipping our drinks.  “HEY!” My brother said to us as we looked up from kissing. “It’s not like you two have anything to celebrate or be happy about right!?” We all laughed and the fiance and I both took a sip while we grinned from ear to ear at each other…

Here’s to the best Christmas ever.

Engaged!