Hi babes! Long time, no blog (as per usual). It’s been over a year since my last blog post, lol oops. Some things have changed in my life since then. I got engaged in November 2020 and between planning a wedding, going to all of our friends’ weddings, and working full-time, blogging has been put on the backburner. Since Spenser proposed exactly one year ago today and we are now less than 6 months(!!!) out from our wedding, I figured that it’d be fun to post wedding updates! I can’t wait to go back and re-read these posts after we are married.
So last November, Spenser and I went to Aruba for vacation! We were supposed to go to London and Paris but due to Covid, we had to change some plans, so we decided to go back to Aruba like we did in 2019. A lot of people have asked me: “Did you know he was going to propose?” and the answer was yes! A little bit of back story, around the time we booked our trip to Europe, Spenser ~drunkenly~ told me he was going to propose in London. Me, being the kind of person I am, remembered it! And when we had to cancel our plans, I knew it would happen in Aruba because we knew we wanted a destination proposal. Plus, I kept asking him about it to drive him crazy! Here’s our story of how we met and our engagement.
How We Met – From My POV
Back in May of 2019, I moved back to Orlando, Florida. After a few weeks of dating apps, I was over it. I posted on a Central Florida Girls Facebook group asking if anyone had a single brother or friend who had a job, was taller than me, and basically wasn’t a serial killer. Kate posted some photos and a blurb about her brother Spenser and he piqued my interest, mostly because of his cute Golden Retriever!
A few weeks later, Kate and I met up one night downtown with a big group of gal pals, and we ended up going to brunch together the next day with two other gals. After drinking plenty of bottomless mimosas, we decided to go to Kate’s brother’s house. We made our way there and it was love at first sight, for Miles the Golden Retriever and me that is.
I spent the entire afternoon petting and cuddling Miles and said maybe 5 sentences to Spenser total. I even took off my fake eyelashes in front of him and somehow, that didn’t scare him.
A week or so later, Spenser invited Kate, Preeti, and me to a concert at House of Blues since his neighbors were one of the bands playing. Once again, I drank a lot, and us girls were being obnoxious, running throughout Disney Springs singing “Don’t Be Suspicious” from Parks and Rec. Throughout the night, Spenser and I had time to talk about each other’s interests and were holding hands. While Kate and Preeti were walking ahead of Spenser and me at one point, I stopped him and kissed him. The four of us ended up in one of the areas of Disney Springs where there is a DJ and dancing by the Boathouse and Spenser and I ended up dancing and having a great time!
Later that week, we also went on our first real date to Santiago Bodega’s, and here we are almost 2 1/2 years later, planning a wedding!
How He Asked – From Spenser’s POV
In early 2020, I planned a trip for Kelsey and I to go to Europe. She had never been, and England is one of my favorite places in the world. My parents had gifted me a vacation to use with their saved points from Christmas the previous year, and I wanted to use a portion of those points for our European vacation. We would go to England for 5 nights, staying in a hotel in Kensington, and then take the Chunnel to Paris for several days to explore and see Disneyland Paris. Unfortunately, the pandemic shut down Europe for travel, and we had to cancel the trip. It was a disappointment, but even more so for me, because I knew that I wanted to propose on this trip.
So onto Plan B.
My family has had a timeshare with the Marriott property in Aruba for many years. We have had many wonderful family vacations in Aruba, and I had the luck of bringing Kelsey to Aruba in the Fall of 2019. We still had the timeshare available for the year 2020, and if unused, the timeshare was wasted. Having discussed my proposal plans with my dad, he offered the Aruba timeshare as a secondary option. Aruba, being one of the islands that I do business in, has its advantages that I have people living there that can advise on the status of the border situation. Our family friend Bob was my coordinator on the island.
Leading up to our trip in November, I was constantly emailing and calling Bob when I was at the office, giving him ideas and providing pictures as inspiration for the proposal. I was going to need his help to pull it off. We were all set, and I felt good as we arrived at the airport in Aruba. Bob picked us up after a long day of traveling and was supposed to drive us to the hotel. Instead, he took us on a drive of several beaches along the West coast of Aruba; beaches that we have discussed using for my proposal. Driving by Eagle Beach, home of the nationally famous Divi Divi Tree, we spotted a beach bar that I tried to slyly mention to Bob about being a great place to go to one day that week. Message received.
The morning that I planned to propose, Kelsey and I went to the beach, sat under a palappa, read our books, had some drinks, and enjoyed the island life. I got a text from Bob saying that he was getting a ride with the photographer and would pick us up soon. We went up to the room to get ready; I had told Kelsey that we were going to take some pictures on the beach and to wear one of her Lilly Pulitzer dresses. (One that she had told me that she would want to wear whenever I eventually proposed.) Bob and the photographer picked us up in their car, with the champagne and ice sitting in the back seat with us. Surprise? Not so much.
We arrive at Eagle Beach, and Kelsey and go to the beach bar we had spotted the day before, while Bob and the photographer go to “take pictures of the Divi Divi Tree”. Before our drinks arrive, Bob texts me that everything is set up. Now, before that day, I had told him that I wanted the photographer to be out of sight. Hide in a bush, look the other way, etc. As Kelsey and I walk down the beach to the spot picked out, there are Bob and the photographer standing right next to the tree, grinning and laughing. I am no good at lying or surprises, so Kelsey knew exactly what was happening. I take her to the famous Divi Divi tree, get down on one knee, and propose to my best friend and soulmate. Although, it was more difficult than I imagined, as she cried and verbally tried to soothe herself, saying “Okay, okay, okay!” When she said Yes! I put the ring on her finger, we toasted with a bottle of champagne and proceeded to take some pictures with our failed-spy photographer. It was a beautiful day, we had beautiful weather, and I had a beautiful new fiancee.
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