Weddingbee Blog

I feel like you all know me but you don’t know much about my Mr. Crepe. Let me tell you a little bit about him by telling you the story of how he proposed.

It’s a little strange for me to be sharing this story because, to be honest, I’m not a romantic. I will carry on about shoes or a bag, but when it comes to my relationship I get shy. I hope that when I tell this story you’ll see a bit of who he is. (Between the two of us, he’s the sentimental one.)

Last September, I went to visit him in Nashville. This was a trip that was supposed to happen in June, but then due to work it was pushed to July and then to September. I didn’t understand why he was so agitated that the trips were delayed; he’s usually the kind of guy who can roll with the punches. I thought he just really wanted to see me, and that was sweet. Didn’t think too much about it at the time.

The weeks before my trip were super busy—wrapping things up at work, making sure everything was lined up so I wouldn’t have to worry about it while I was away, etc. But before I left, my dad was driving me to Staples when, out of the blue, he asked me in Mandarin, “So when you go there, you’ll get engaged, and then what will happen?” I was confused, but assured him that this was just a vacation—no one was getting engaged. Most of you are probably mentally face-palming, but my dad is like that—he’ll just ask random questions that don’t really make sense at the time—so I didn’t think anything was up. My first clue was actually when I called Mr. Crepe and told him what my dad had said, and he answered, “Just focus on finishing your work.”

Just focus on finishing my work? What kind of response is that? It’s weird, that’s what. But I have a history of ruining surprises with my incessant badgering, so I kept quiet. I convinced myself that I thought it was strange because I was HOPING a proposal was coming. Just a case of wishful thinking.

The next day, I got on a plane to Nashville.

The Monday after I arrived, Mr. Crepe told me that he had an appointment for me. With a masseuse. He doesn’t usually treat me to anything big like that for no reason, so my curiosity was piqued. Again, I didn’t want to assume something was going on, so I just emptied my mind and let Susanna put me in a stupor for the rest of the day. I don’t remember anything that happened after. (I think we might have gone antiquing?) Oh yes, here’s a photo of me immediately after the massage, a little loopy:

Tuesday morning, I woke up to this:

Steak and eggs, my favorite breakfast. Looking back, I am realizing that at this point I still didn’t really have a clue that something was up. And that makes me feel like I am the luckiest girl. I have the kind of guy who makes a girl some steak and eggs for no real good reason.

After breakfast, we set out to go to Cheekwood to see the Chihuly exhibit. This was when Big Clue #2 happened. Mr. Crepe had a huge folder sticking out of his bag. I, being the ever-nosy one, had to say something.

“Hey, what’s that sticking out of your bag?”

“What? Oh, that was there from before.”

Um, what kind of lame answer is that? That doesn’t answer my question at all! At this point, my radar was going bonkers. Which is why I didn’t reach over and grab the folder to take a look myself. I refused to be a surprise-ruiner!

So we set off to see the exhibit.

After a few hours, the museum was about to close. We found a spot in the grass to have a snack: Piave cheese and Vosges chocolate. (If you haven’t tried them together, you must! So, so good.) He took out a book and told me that he had written something for me. I looked at his face and then I knew: it was time.

So I read. Seconds later (minutes? hours?) I looked up, and he held out an open box and stammered something about the ring, voice shaking. I forgot to say yes, and then I did. We sat together on the tartan blanket.

My first question, after processing the proposal, was whether he had spoken to my parents, but even as I asked it I knew the answer. He began telling me about the process that began months ago, emailing with my brother and planning a day trip to New York to speak with my parents.

After calling our families, we drove to the nearest Starbucks. Emailing and texting, updating our relationship status on Facebook—you know how it goes. Modern love.