An innocent girls trip to New York City turned into one of the most magical moments of my life. It involved roses, a walk through central park, and the first snowfall of the year. Let me give you a little back story..
It started almost 10 years ago at a Mexican restaurant on Valentine's Day. We got dropped off by his Dad because neither one of us had a license yet, we were teens. He drank a ridiculous amount of Dr. Pepper // the exact number is still up for debate // and I barely touched my food since I had a lapse in memory and forgot what fajitas were.. they came out steaming and popping and I immediately knew there was no way to eat this and still be attractive. Somehow despite our nerves and the added pressure of Valentine's Day, I remember talking the entire night. It was so easy with him, like we'd been old friends that finally came together again. We had absolutely no idea what "this" was back then, no clue it would eventually lead us here.
I am sitting in the restaurant at Bergdorf Goodman's on the 7th floor watching the first snowfall of the year come down over New York City. I am with three of my girlfriends, having mimosas and nibbling on pita and hummus. The server walks over with the check, I assumed, but when I look up he is handing a piece of paper to me and a red, long stemmed rose. He said, "These are for you" and walked away. My first thought was okay there is some creep whose been watching us, but when I open the piece of paper the handwriting is familiar. It's his handwriting.. I love you forever and always..Meet me in Central Park. My eyes start to water and my hands begin to shake. Could this be it? I look up at my girlfriends and get absolutely nothing. They say okay let’s go to Central Park. So we get up and walk calmly through Bergdorfs, stopping to look at the Christmas ornaments, no sense of hurry or a need to be anywhere. I am completely losing it on the inside and in such shock that I am just going through the motions, practically mute. Finally, I find my voice and start harassing them // "You guys would tell me if you knew something, right?!", "What's going on, someone needs to tell me right now?!" // They told me to relax, he just planned a horse-drawn carriage ride, don't get your hopes up.. they were so convincing!
So we start walking across the street towards Central Park. The snow that only started that morning had now laid down a layer of white over the city and was still falling as we reached the entrance. I look up for a moment through the flurries and see my best friend standing there with a red, long stemmed rose. I basically yell at him, "What are you doing here?". His response, "We're just going to take a walk through Central Park". My girlfriends and him lead me deeper into the park; the one thing running through my mind.. "Whatever you do, don't slip and fall!". I can only imagine a bruised bum and wet snow plastered to my rear, not a memory I want to add to this moment. Then I hear my brother's voice, "Hey we know you." He is standing along the side of the path with his wife, who was never a sister-in-law and always just a sister. She is 7 months pregnant with my first niece. Both have a single red, long stemmed rose in hand. I immediately start crying. "How are you here? You're pregnant!" We hug, both of us crying. My brother hugs me and they both start walking me further along the path. At this point I knew who was coming next. Even still, seeing my Mom and Dad standing there with roses in their hands, instantly sent me into another round of tears. They stood one on each side, wrapped their arms in mine, and walked me down to a snow covered valley. There was a small stream, an arch stoned bridge, and a man standing in the snow. All I can remember is that he looked so good in his suit and coat with a dozen red roses in his hand and snow flakes falling all around him. I wish I could tell you what he said but to be honest I don’t remember. I was lost in this moment, so overwhelmed, in the best way possible. I remember bits, here and there.. I love you’s and me telling him he didn’t need to get down on one knee because he would get wet and ruin his pants. He didn’t listen. He got down on one knee, opened a little box, and asked me to marry him.
I don’t know if I actually said yes or if my head just nodded a thousands times yes, but he stood up, grabbed me, and we kissed. I could have stayed like this forever. But suddenly, the haze of the moment lifted and the sound of hundreds of people cheering brought me back. We had gained an audience as I walked through the park and people had lined up along the bridge and on the ridge of the valley to watch what would happen. Some of them even came down to congratulate us! A sweet couple from Mexico said they came all this way to see us. It was a surreal moment, like living a dream, but so much better than I ever could have imagined. I was the luckiest, happiest girl in the entire world! I truly felt like no one on Earth could be as happy as I am in this moment. Lucky for me, my new fiancé and best friend had the sense to hire a photographer to capture it! So after all of the friends and family congratulated us and I got to show off my ring, the photographer grabbed the two of us and we walked off into Central Park for a photoshoot in the snow. We went all over Central Park and shot until the sun went down. We were laughing and smiling the entire time, I wish I could describe what it felt like but there are no words!
It really didn’t hit me that I couldn’t feel my hands and feet until we were done shooting and rushing to find a warm place to dry off before we would meet up with my family for dinner. We walked into the first place we saw and sat down. We were both completely soaked and unimaginably happy. We called some family members that weren’t there to tell them the news. It felt so amazing to be able to finally say it, “We’re engaged!”. When we finished, it was time for dinner. He had made reservations at an amazing restaurant // covered in white bricks //an old factory or something only New York could bring to new life. We ordered wine, kept the corks as mementos, had a mouth-watering meal, and talked about the engagement. One of the best parts about the proposal was that my family was there in the city and I got to relive the moment with them, especially the behind the scenes that I didn’t know about! Hearing how they had been in the city for a few days, that they had known for a few months, picking out the ring and the moments leading up to “the moment”. Everyone's nerves and panic, it blew my mind how much had happened while I was completely unaware! After dinner, we walked around New York. Taking in how beautiful the city was at Christmas time. All the lights, the window displays, the tree at Rockefeller Center, and the flurries of snow making everything completely magical.
It's perfect that this post is going up on Valentine's Day, where this all started, where Jordan and I started. I always use to tell my mom when I was younger that I'd rather find my someone right then, than to waste years on the people that weren't it. Lucky for me, someone was listening. I got to spend the last 10 years with the man of my dreams and now this is one dream I'll never have to wake up from. He is my always and forever, forever and always... I love you babey.
Happy Valentine's Day Loves,
to you and your loves,
and all the loves still to come..
Here's to a day full of love!
Photographer: I Heart NYC Photography
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