one time i got engaged.

So...it's been a while. And by a while, I mean a long time. But you see, life has been a little crazy with school ending, summer beginning, getting engaged :) and all the other crazy things that come with wedding planning, including finding a place to live.

Let's start back at the beginning...

Devin and I met through friends: my roommate (Rachel) was dating his roommate (Jeff), and they wanted to set us up. Apparently they thought we would be "perfect for eachother"...and you know what? They were right! After that first date, we were both intrigued by one another. I invited him to some parties, and we went on a few more dates, and the rest is history. In the infancy of our dating, we went to the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City and pretended to be a newly married couple staying at the hotel, in which we got free hot chocolate for being newlyweds. I felt guilty for "stealing" the hotel's hot cocoa, but Devin welcomed in the free gift. I guess you could say that the Grand America has held a special place in my heart from that day forward.

After dating for many moons, we toyed around with the idea of marriage. We were both so very much in love with each other, that we knew that we wanted to get married one day. More time went by and we got more serious about this wedding idea. I showed him a few pictures of rings that I liked. My only request was this: make it untraditional. (If there is one thing that I loathe in life, it is the "normal" and "popular" thing that people have and do.)

April 21st was a busy day. I had a photo-shoot that I was involved in (makeup gal), and our little Jeffy and Rachy were getting married. Remember those two? Yeah, we pretty much love them. I told Devin that I would be done with the photo-shoot at 2 PM. Around 5:30 PM is when I actually got done. As soon as I got home, we went to Jeff and Rachel's wedding reception and then I had to drive to Salt Lake to stay the weekend with my best friend, Katie. Overall, Devin and I only got to see each other for 2 hours that day (not mentioning the very few hours I got to spend with him during that week). Needless to say, as I was driving away from Provo to Salt Lake, I was feeling very emotional. All I wanted was to spend time with my man, and I couldn't get even that.

I finally arrived in Salt Lake at 10:30 PM, exhausted from the day, sore from wearing heels, and heartbroken from not being able to be with Devin. Katie helped me unload my luggage. "How are you doing?" She asked. "I am so tired." I replied. After showing me around her uncle's house, she said that we were going to go with her cousin to go get some candy. My thoughts: Seriously? All I want is to go to bed. But I didn't want to appear as some lame boring person, so I said "sure!" and we were on our way. Before I knew it, we were pulling up to the Grand America. I thought it was so funny that this was the same place where Devin and I spent our "mock marriage" date. Unfortunately, the candy shop was closed. I was super bummed because I had gotten my hopes up about getting candy. Katie's cousin piped in, "Hey, I hear that the gardens are beautiful here. We should go check them out!" At this point, I was so tired and out of it that I didn't care what we did. I just wanted to get this adventure over with and go to bed.

As we walked out to the gardens, I noticed that there were candles lit everywhere, even in the pool of water. I exclaimed, "Wow, that is so pretty. There must have been a wedding going on tonight." We continued to walk on the pathway. When we turned the corner, I could not believe my eyes. There was Devin, sitting on the curb, with a ukulele in his hands. I knew what was coming next. My head started to spin and suddenly everything felt like a dream. Am I really here? Did I just fall asleep and dream that I came with them? I began to back away from Devin, seeing but not believing. "Come back here!" He said playfully. I tried to walk back to him, but I ended up just walking in circles, repeating the same line over and over..."Is this really happening? Am I dreaming?" Devin walked toward me, playing his ukulele and singing the words to Ingrid Michaelson's song: Light in Me. The song was finished with me singing along with him. He looked at me with those honey-brown eyes of his and flattered me with an assortment of memories we have shared thus far. Before I knew it, he was on bended knee, proposing to me. I said yes quietly at first, and then repeated with a loud "yes!" I was so twitterpated the whole time, that I did not notice his roommate, Wil, recording us on camera. It was definitely one of the most surprising moments I have ever had in my life. I still smile when I think about it.

One boy. One girl. 100 candles. One camera. One ring. 3 sneaky friends.

But most of all...I am just so excited to marry the love of my life :)

Devin is my best friend.

He is my sous chef. 

He is my lover.

He is the best kisser (after me, of course).

He is my heart, my soul, and my life.

And I cannot wait to spend forever with him.

The tricksters who fooled me.

The ring: Devin designed it himself :)