Wedding Blog

My mama is the one in our family who reminds the rest of us about special dates - birthdays, anniversaries, etc. I think this role is stealthily being handed down to me but it looks like I have a lot of work to do… because Mama Sea Breeze called me yesterday morning to remind me of our own anniversary!

How on earth could I have forgotten? One year ago yesterday, Mr Breezy asked me to marry him… and in 41 days, I will.

When I joined the hive, I told you about how we met, but I never did get around to telling you about how he proposed.

As I found out after the fact, apparently, it was in the works for quite some time.

During a visit to El Rancho (as I affectionately call the ranch in Alberta where my parents live) last spring, my dad volunteered Mr Breezy to accompany him on a trip to the veterinarian with one of our horses. It turned out to be quite a memorable trip for him in more ways than one - on the way home after having witnessed a vet checking the fertility of the horse by, er, taking matters into own hands (ifyouknowwhatImean - I think he is still having nightmares), he took advantage of the rare situation of being alone with my dad to ask him if he could marry his daughter.

That was four months before he actually popped the question; I still can’t believe my parents kept it to themselves so long.

Mr Breezy had actually planned quite the elaborate proposal - make that, proposals. There were, ah, a few false attempts.

The original plan was to propose during the trip of a lifetime (for me, anyway) to Prince Edward Island last summer. Like Miss Hot Cocoa, I am also beyond obsessed with Anne of Green Gables. However, he didn’t get the ring in time and besides, too many people had hinted that this might be the moment and Mr Breezy likes to be unpredictable.

Yes, my shirt does indeed say ‘Property of Gilbert Blythe’. Told you I was hard core.

When I suggested a shopping trip to Seattle a few weeks later, he grimaced (he’s allergic to shopping), but then hatched an elaborate plan to seal me away for a weekend getaway there as a surprise. Too bad that very same week, I told him I had made plans to go that same weekend with a friend from work. I thought he’d be delighted… turns out I spoiled his plan.

His third plan was to capitalize on yet another thing I’ve always wanted to do - tour of Vancouver by air. He picked a day and made reservations, but that day it rained… and continued to rain every single day after that… right up until we left for El Rancho for Thanksgiving.

Source

By that point, the ring was burning a hole in his pocket and he couldn’t wait any longer.

The night of our arrival at the ranch, we had the customary HUGE meal Mama Sea Breeze always puts on. Afterwards, he said he wanted to go for a walk but I looked at him like he was crazy. He never wants to go for walks, and that evening, neither did I.

The next evening, same thing… “Let’s go for a walk,” he suggested. “I’m feeling ill, I need some fresh air.” That worked to get me out and as we were leaving, my dad shouted, “If you’re going out, could you go pick up the eggs while you’re at it?”

So I put on my awesomely sexy farm get-up which consists of rubber boots, a 10 year old jacket covered in dirt (and probably some poop) and old mittens that smelled like wet dog. Oh yessss…. hotnessss…..

A super hideous picture of me and the farm jacket in action, with my dad. Yup, I’m a farm girl at heart.

And after we had made the obligatory pit-stop at the chicken coop where I had inelegantly shoved my hands under the roosting chickens to scoop up the warm eggs, we stood outside under the stars. He said such romantic things and then, as I exclaimed, “Are you JOKING?”, he dropped to one knee and placed a sparkler on the fourth finger of my chicken-poopy left hand.

I cried. Then rushed home to rouse the entire household so we could all cry and laugh and dance together.

Mr Breezy posted this picture and caption on our wedding website.

It was an amazing moment, made so much more thrilling because it happened at the ranch I love so much, and because I was able to immediately share it with my family who I love so much.

This weekend I’ll be going back to ‘the scene of the crime’, as it were, to celebrate (Canadian) Thanksgiving at El Rancho. Unfortunately, Mr Breezy isn’t coming with me, but you can bet I’ll be going to pick up those eggs with stars in my eyes.

How did you celebrate your engage-iversary? For those of you who are already married, do you still celebrate it?