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Julia DeCaire
writes ...
What does it feel like to be the most blessed woman
in the whole wide world?
In a word: “Surreal.”
On Friday May 16, 2008, I had
the most beautiful and surprising day of my life. All week
I was excited to go on a mystery date planned by Andrew. We
had talked about going on more dates so the fact that he had
done some extra planning for this one was no surprise to
me.
This is all I knew via an Evite sent the day
before:
Event: A Very Special Date
When:
Friday May 16, 2008 4:00 PM
Phone:
1-800-I-LOVE-YOU
Dearest
Love,
Will you do me the honor of accompanying me on an evening of
delight? I will pick you up promptly at 4pm at your home.
Please wear athletic clothing including long pants and close
toed shoes. Bring with you an elegant outfit to change in to
later in the evening. Most importantly be ready to be swept
off your feet! I love you babe.
Love,
Andrew
Disclaimer:
Throughout the course of the events that
transpired, you will probably think that I had some idea of
what was coming, but I can honestly say that I had NO idea
until it actually happened. My complete cluelessness mostly
has to do with:
1. Andrew’s
decoy: A few weeks ago Andrew had begun mentioning that we
should go and casually look at rings some time, just to get
an idea of what I liked. Last weekend, we set a “ring date”
for Saturday afternoon. I thought that looking at rings
would be the beginning of a several month process of getting
engaged.
2. The
fact that I think that I have one of the most creative and
awesome boyfriends ever. Therefore, a fun and thoughtful
date isn’t too unbelievable.
Preface:
As some of you know, Andrew and I dated
briefly our freshman year in college and he took me on “the
best date ever,” which included:
-
His friend Cory dressing up like a
chauffeur and driving us around all evening in a white
minivan with the backseats removed and replaced with bean
bags and pillows. He stayed in character the whole night.
Andrew even “pretended” to tip him.
-
A trip to the zoo. It was dark out and the
zoo was decked out with Christmas lights.
-
Dinner at Pieces of Eight, a very nice
restaurant in Milwaukee. (Andrew made me laugh by ordering
for us and pronouncing “filet” and “salmon “phonetically.)
-
After dinner we were drove to a lot on Lake
Michigan and hung out with the back hatch open facing the
water.
We then ended the night with desert at Andrew’s dorm room
that had been set up before we arrived.
I will never forget that date and have also
made sure that Andrew has not forgotten it by mentioning
“the best date ever” every few months. I was surprised that
he never tried to top it.
Now let the story begin!
It’s 4:00pm and I am sitting outside on the
curb decked out in athletic clothing waiting for Andrew to
pull up. I get a call from someone other than Andrew
telling me that they are pulling onto my street. A white
minivan pulls in front of my house. At this point I am a
little confused, because I was expecting Andrew’s car to
drive up. Charles (Andrew’s roommate) emerges from the
driver’s side door sporting a suit and sunglasses. He
greets me professionally, “Good evening ma’am” and opens the
back hatch where Andrew was sitting inside. I blush and
laugh and think, “This is so cute.” (I asked once whose van
it was, but then let it go).
We then spent the next thirty minutes driving
into the country. We ended up at Dead Brook Horse Ranch.
We geared up and went on an hour long horseback ride through
the serene forest, just Andrew, the guide and I. It rained
a little and the first horse I got on was a little stubborn
(I ended up switching with Andrew because he is used to
dealing with challenging teenagers), but other than that it
was wonderful. I especially enjoyed trotting. I giggled
and squealed the whole time that the horse ran.
We then changed clothes and freshened up as
much as possible in the back of the van while we were driven
to our next destination. We arrived at Angus Barn, a
delicious and locally famous steakhouse in Raleigh. Dinner
was lovely. At this point I begin saying that I am so
blessed and that I need to be an even better person so that
I feel like I deserve this. I just couldn’t believe that I
get to experience such special treatment.
Andrew asked if it would ruin the night if he
didn’t order salmon. I laughed and told him that of course
it would not. Now I catch onto the theme of our freshman
year date. After doing something with animals and eating at
a very special restaurant, it was time for the lake. During
our drive and while at Falls Lake, a CD was playing with
songs that have meaning to our relationship. As soon as we
parked facing the lake, and opened the hatch, Charles (or
Nigel as he went by that night) was gone. I’m not sure
where he went but I think he just ran off into the woods.
Andrew and I spent a little time just talking and
reminiscing. Then Andrew said that he really liked the song
that was about to come on and went and turned up the
volume. It was a song that I had never heard before.
The very beginning of the song mentions
meeting on Wells Street, which is where Andrew and I met
walking past each other our first week of college (he
stopped me and told me I was beautiful). “What a
coincidence!” I said. Then the next line says “Joulze” and
from then on I come to realize that the entire song is about
us. Andrew had somehow written a song for me. (No, he was
not the one singing it). During the song I started to feel
like I’m dreaming. I could not believe that he had done
that. How sweet! I was incredibly touched.
Once the song was over we talked a little and
I STILL thought this was just a “normal” date. Andrew then
asked me what time I would like to go look at rings
tomorrow. I gave him a general time frame and asked him if
that would work for him. He started getting serious and
said that no, in fact that time would not work for him
because… he already had the ring.
~ ~ ~ SURREAL ALERT! FROM THIS POINT ON
NOTHING SEEMED REAL ~ ~ ~
He then began to climb out of the car and
moved me to the edge. I’m not really sure what I was saying
or if I said anything at all. But Andrew said, “Joulze,
this is really happening”. He then proceeded to get down on
his knee and asked me to marry him. Once I finally took my
face out of my hands I simply said, “Yes”. We kissed and
went for a short walk by the lake until I stopped shaking.
I think I said, “You tricked me” about a thousand times.
(Andrew prefers the word “surprised”, but he “tricked” me!)
Luckily Charles had crept up to the side of
the car and took pictures of the actual proposal.
We then got back in the van and had a surreal
and happy ride back to my place. Charles said that he was
going to drop us off and then go see his girlfriend. When
we arrived at my place it was completely dark.
I walked up the path with my wobbly knees and
unlocked the door. When I flipped on the light I heard a
loud chant, “Congratulations!” Inside were some of my
closest friends here in North Carolina. There were flowers,
candles, balloons and pictures of us everywhere. Our friend
Julia even put together a little slide show. It was
amazing. Looking around the room at all of the people and
their efforts confirmed that yes; I in fact am the most
blessed woman in the whole wide world. It was so nice
having everyone there to reaffirm and love us. It was
fantastic.
By the end of the night I was exhausted and
emotionally drained; however, I was up the entire night
because I was so excited. I tried to sleep, but would go
into the bathroom every couple hours and go look at my
hand. Saturday night was also pretty restless. I fed off
pure joy the whole weekend.
The End (or shall I say Beginning)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
some pix here
My ring was too big, so none of the ring
shots turned out very good. Oh well!
FAQs
-
Do you like the ring?
No, I love it!
-
When is the wedding?
No plans yet, we are soaking this all in, but probably at
least a year from now.
-
Where is the wedding?
Good question. Like I said, we are going to enjoy being
engaged for a little bit and then start talking
logistics. Obviously location (state wise) will be one of
the biggest and initial decisions. We just have so many
loved ones all over! This is tough!
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