I'm Engaged! (and How He Asked)

I cannot believe I am typing my engagement story! I have had to come back and edit this so many times because it started out all over the place! I am so happy and filled with emotion so it has been hard to put all of this into words.

But, I really wanted to do my absolute best to share the story! One of my favorite things about blogging is that it's like a life-record. I'm so glad that I will have this post to always look back on and remember the sheer excitement of it all. 

I have been SO excited to share it with all of you- I have intentionally kept my relationship offline. I share so much of my life online and it was very important that something like this stay offline to keep a semblance of privacy- I'll definitely write a full post about that and go into more detail! 

You were all so wonderfully supportive and kind when I announced our engagement on Instagram. All of the comments, e-mails, and DM's brought tears to my eyes and I cannot thank you enough or be more grateful for this wonderful Summer Wind community that has come to fruition over the last ten years. 

One other thing to note before we get started- I'm sharing iPhone photos from our engagement night (so weird to type 'engagement night', ha!). I just got our engagement photos and I am so excited to share those, too, but I will share those in a separate post. I'll also share more about our relationship like how long we have been together, how we met, etc. in future posts. For now, this is just about the night we got engaged! Let me know if you have any other wedding-specific content that you'd like me to share!

It all started on Christmas Eve. My mom asked me if I wanted to go for drinks and then dinner on Friday, December 28th. This was totally normal - my sister Callie was in town for Christmas and we usually do something fun like that when she is home. So we planned to head to Mt. Washington for drinks and dinner. I was honestly itching to do something fun because I had been cooped up in bed for the last 8+ days. Little did I know, Andrew had already met my dad for drinks and asked for his permission. At our huge Christmas Eve party, everyone knew but me, ha!!

Callie's boyfriend was planning on coming with us to dinner and I had asked Andrew if he would want to join but his friends were in town so he was going to be with them that night. Again, this was totally normal because his friends really were going to be in town that night. 

I had been sick with the flu the week prior to Christmas so I had missed my manicure appointment. My nails seriously looked SO bad- my mom and Andrew and pretty much everyone said something about how bad they looked, but I just laughed because I had been sick. So, my sister, cousin and I went to get our nails done on Friday morning. Andrew had texted Callie worried that my nails wouldn't be done. I suspected nothing because I literally needed a manicure and was happy to have them done before the New Year's Eve holiday. 

During that afternoon, my mom told me that they would pick me up at 4:50pm. I did question that- I told her that was ridiculously early and we should go later like around 7pm. She convinced me to do it early because she had said Callie made a dinner reservation earlier so it ended up making sense. 

They picked me up and it had been really warm all day. That night it was 60 degrees but it had started to rain. My sister had said she wanted to take photos on Mt. Washington. This area of the city is the area that overlooks the downtown skyline. In my opinion, it's the best view. It is very popular to go and look out on the city. I wasn't suspicious at all when she had said that but I did complain in the car on the way up because it was raining. I said 'we should just skip the photos because it's raining and I don't want to get out of the car if it is raining.' 

What I Wore:

Leopard Coat// Black Top

 Leather Leggings// Similar Shoes

Miraculously, it had stopped raining as soon as we parked. So we all go out of the car and went to an overlook. I had my mom take a photo of my sister and I that you can see above. I guess Callie saw Andrew out of the corner of her eye and had me turn around to take a photo. I didn't see him and he came up behind me. 

This next part all happened so fast, it was crazy trying to process it all as it was happening. Andrew was shaking SO much and I saw his mom and sister out of the corner of my eye. For a second, it didn't even hit me he was proposing and I felt like I was being rude by not going over to his mom and sister and saying hi to them. I almost walked over to them but he started talking and he was crying and shaking so much, and all of the sudden I said 'Oh my gosh are you proposing?'. Andrew said some very sweet things and got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. 

When I pictured getting engaged in my head, I didn't think I would cry, but I did!!! My biggest request in terms of getting engaged is that I wanted to be so surprised and Andrew nailed it. I was truly clueless and never suspected a thing. So not only was I filled with so much happiness and emotion but I was just truly SO surprised. 

Andrew knows me too well. I loved that it was in one of the most picturesque places in all of Pittsburgh and a place that is special to me. I don't think I had ever mentioned it to him, but when the day came, I had always wanted to get engaged on Mt. Washington. I also love that he included our families in the entire thing. They were able to get some great photos and a video of the entire thing! 

Afterward, our families took a bunch of photos and my mom brought out my favorite Veuve Clicquot for us to enjoy celebratory champagne on the overlook!

I didn't even look at the ring for a little while because I was so overwhelmed and when I did, I could not stop looking at it! He had had a ring box made with my future initials on it which I thought was so special because he knows how much I love monograms. Andrew and I had obviously talked about marriage and a proposal while we were dating and while we never tried on rings together or anything like that, I did give him a very clear idea of what I wanted in a ring. He gave me exactly what I wanted and I could not be happier with it!!! It's classic, timeless, and elegant!! 

We then headed to the William Penn Hotel which is one of my favorite spots in downtown Pittsburgh for more champagne and some food! I was so glad to be with my family and decompress in such a beautiful setting. 

Then, I was surprised with a party my sister and Andrew had worked on setting up! It means so much to me that Andrew included so many people who I hold dear to me throughout the entire night. I value my family and friendships above anything else and to have them with me on the happiest night of my life was everything I could have ever wanted and then some. 

Eugenia gets married next month!!! 

We headed to Il Tetto which is a rooftop bar downtown and so many of my friends were there to surprise me! Andrew's friends who were all in town came, too! I had no idea so many people knew for weeks before I did. I was impressed at how well everyone kept the secret. 

We had the best night and everyone ended up coming back to my apartment for late night food. The next morning was a little rough after all of those glasses of champagne but it was so exciting to wake up with a ring on my finger and know it wasn't just a dream! Andrew's friends were coming in for New Year's that morning so I went straight into an entertaining/tour guide mode. It's been nice to have some downtime in the past few days to soak it all in. 

My parents are going to be hosting an engagement party for us and I'm so excited for that as the next wedding-related thing! I have also already ordered my wedding shoes- which I'll wear for all wedding-related events (I'll share in a separate post!). 

Can I just say it is the weirdest thing to say, fiancé?! It just doesn't feel real and to be wearing a ring on my wedding ring finger is so crazy to me! Needless to say, 2019 is going to be the best year yet! I am just so happy. 

If you have made it this far, thanks for sticking with me and sharing in my excitement and happiness. It means so much to be able to share it with all of you!!!