James and I have been together for almost 6 years now and we have NEVER been on a vacation alone. WHY? I have no idea! Well last week we went on out very first romantic getaway together. Boy was it a special one!!
(This is the first night, we took a beautiful carriage ride.. Prince Charming and Cinderella)
WE GOT ENGAGED... and here is the beautiful story.
Once upon a time...
We went to Jekyll Island and stayed at the Jekyll Island club hotel in the beautiful Crane Cottage. I have been going to this amazing place since I was a little girl and I have always dreamed of getting married here.
The room we stayed in was a deluxe king suite... So yeah the room was pretty amazing. We had 2 beautiful balconies overlooking the ocean river. They both opened with beautiful french doors. One was in the bathroom, so you know I took a bath with the doors open while looking at the ocean! It was pretty amazing! The other one was a beautiful porch with a table and 2 chairs that we used quite a few times.
(The Crane Cottage... The circle shows our room. The tree was trimmed back when we were there so you could see the balcony.)
Ok! So now that I have some what set the scene for you... let`s start with the engagement day!
It was a Monday morning and we rolled out of bed, threw on some clothes and walked to the cafe to get some AMAZING coffee. We sat on e a HUGE porch for a while soaking in all the beauty around us. While we were sitting there we were watching people ride bikes and so we wanted to ride them also. So as soon as we finished out coffee we walked down to the bellmen and asked them about renting bikes for the whole day. Well to our surprise they let us ride for free ALL DAY! SCORE! So we rode bikes for seriously like 5 hours straight. We had so much fun... we found trails that lead to alligator ponds. We wanted to see one so bad but... we did not!
When we were done riding bikes we went to the Pool Bar, ordered a strawberry daiquiri and laid on a blanket in front of the ocean for about an hour or so. It was so peaceful!
THEN IT WAS TIME TO GET READY FOR OUR BIG DINER!
We went back to the room and got all dolled up and went to diner. There is this beautiful restaurant in the hotel called the Grand Dining Room. We ate here on a closed in porch and watched the sun go down. After diner we walked the paths in front of the ocean and sat on a bench for a while while he held me. Talking and soaking in all of nature`s beautiful wonders.
The Grand Dining Rom
The red Circle is where we sat!
We decided to get up and go walking and talking lol. We walked over to the Court Yard at the Crane and talked about how amazing it would be to get married there. I told him how I had always pictured it since I was a little girl. Well grabbed my shoulders and easily placed me in the spot where we would say I DO. He hugged me and said "You are my very best friend in the whole world, you know that? and I love you more than anything." I told him he was mine and I loved him too. AT this point her got down on one knee and said... I know this has always been your dream and I want to make your dream come true... that`s why I am proposing here. I want this to be a promise that I will come back to this very spot and marry you here. I love you more than anything and I cannot imagine my life without you. WILL YOU MARRY ME? Oh my goodness I was crying and I said yes, yes, of course! We hugged and cried and kissed and laughed! It was so meaningful... he wants to make my childhood dream come true. I am so thankful for that!
The circle shows where he proposed!!
Another view of the beautiful court yard and where he proposed!
My ring
We went up to our room to change and go out walking again... well while we were in our room her hands me a ring box. I looked at him with a puzzled look and said... what? I opened the box and there was his grandmother`s and his mother`s engagement ring. His grandmother passed away the first year we were together and he has been heartbroken ever since. His mom gave him the ring before he graduated... in hopes he would one day give it to me. Well he has put it in a drawer for years and would not let me see it or touch it. So when I opened the box and seen the ring tears immediately started to fall. I had totally forgotten all about this ring. I was speechless all I could do was cry and hug him.
The crazy thing is... my grandmother passed away last year and I received her wedding band. The band was my great grandmothers before it was hers. THE WEDDING BAND AND THE RING GO TOGETHER AS A SET!! It is meant to be... we are meant to be and this first vacation with him could not have been better!
Our grandmothers Rings (what girl gets 2 engagement rings and one that means so much more than money could ever buy?)
I am so sorry it was so long but I wanted to share our amazing day with you! I am so excited and I hope you enjoyed our amazing story. I look forward to telling you all about our up coming events like engagement photos and the wedding!
