She Said Yes! {Morgan & Caleb Engaged}
I am so excited to announce that two of my faves are ENGAGED!
Morgan and Caleb celebrated their 5 years this weekend and caleb had the perfect anniversary surprise in the works. When Caleb called me and told me the date and his plan to ask Morgan the big question I could sense his excitement and I knew that this day was going to be super special. I love these two a lot and have gotten to see them grow in their relationship with each other and with the Lord and I am so excited for them to finally be getting married!
I could tell you the story of these two but I think it is much more exciting to hear it from his and her perspectives!
Morgan's Side:
This story has been 5 years coming. Caleb and I started dating February 28th, 2010 and exactly 5 years later he proposed on February 28th, 2015. I guess you could say he was worth the wait.
This proposal, while yes it was technically a one day thing, has been floating around in the air for quite some time now. Caleb and I went ring shopping Martin Luther King weekend and after that, to Caleb’s delight, everything became a mystery to me. He told me that it could happen any time between February and March.
If you know me at all, you know I DESPISE surprises. Is it a control issue? Yes. Do I want to know everything at all times? Absolutely. So during this whole time of waiting, you can probably imagine how much of a nut case I was. You can probably also imagine how much I tried to crack (nag) Caleb and get him to reveal his secrets.
Our 5 year anniversary approaches and I begin to really question whether it’s gonna happen this weekend. A part of me thought, “He wouldn’t do it our anniversary weekend, that’s too cheesy,” but the other part thought “He’s running out of time, he must be doing it this weekend.” But I quieted my mind and tried to go into the weekend with no expectations.
We spent Friday night in Athens going to dinner and a concert and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that it wasn’t happening that night. Fast forward to the next morning where my mind was on a roller coaster ride of emotions and questions. All I knew was that we were going on a fancy day date, thanks to my roommate Rebecca. Side note: Caleb told Rebecca what I needed to pack and so Thursday night we spent 2+ hours trying to find the perfect outfit for Saturday (Rebecca knowing this was the outfit I was getting proposed to in and I seriously thinking this outfit has to be bomb in case it is the outfit I get proposed to in).
Caleb drives us into Atlanta and soon pulls up to the Westin hotel where I then know that we are going to the SunDial. Caleb is pretty normal at this point and isn’t acting too suspicious. We enjoy a great lunch at the SunDial and then head over to Amelie’s, a french cafe for dessert and coffee.
He then gets on 85S where I then start to get suspicious because I know we’re headed home. He pretty much stops talking on the car ride (out of nervousness) to PTC so naturally, I take a nap. We pull off the exit and drive to Line Creek. Line Creek is a nature area that is pretty significant to our relationship. We had numerous walks and talks there so when we pulled in, I really thought it might happen here. We go for a walk and Caleb is hardly talking - acting super awkward. He keeps looking around, as if he’s looking for someone or for his cue to take action. To my surprise, nothing happens. We leave and start heading towards the direction of his house. He quickly turns around and starts heading the direction we just came from… What the heck? I soon realize we are heading towards the church that both Caleb and I grew up in. We pull into the parking lot of the main building and I look across the street to our community center where a beautiful structure covered in flower garland awaited us. This community center is where Caleb and I begun our relationship, had our first kiss, and experienced so much growth as a couple. It held a special place in both of our hearts.
At this point, I’m STILL telling myself that this may not even be it. It’s not out of his character to build me a structure like that, I mean it is our 5 year. We walk over and he takes both my hands and tears fill his eyes and that’s when I FREAK out and realize this is actually happening. He asks me if I want my 5 year gift and I hesitantly/eagerly respond “I don’t know….”. He says well I have a speech to give before I give you your gift. He gives his speech (1 long run-on sentence) and before I know it, he is down on one knee proposing and I’m excitedly saying yes and jumping into his arms. I soon realize we are secretly being photographed by our close friend, Erin Spruell and freak out. We take some pictures outside and then head inside to the community center where I am flooded by not only my friends and family but with emotions as well. It was everything I had ever wanted in a proposal and I was so honored that Caleb was so thoughtful and intentional in his planning.
Although I hate surprises, this one was worth it.
-Morgan
Caleb's Side:
Before I share about how the day went, it’s important to understand two crucial details:
1.I am TERRIBLE at keeping secrets from Morgan.
2.Morgan HATES getting surprised and is super nosy when she wants to know something.
That being said, I was feeling some mega nerves going into this weekend! Even though I’m a type A planner and was feeling good about the proposal plan, I couldn’t help but be nervous all weekend.
On Friday evening, we did a really fun date night in Athens, including dinner and a Drew Holcomb concert. The concert was incredible, but I just felt off my game (assuming that I even have a game) all night because of the impending engagement. It was especially ironic that lots of our friends were at the concert and THEY ALL KNEW ABOUT THE PROPOSAL. Situational irony is the worst, and again, I do not like keeping secrets from Morgan.
Saturday, which was our 5 year anniversary, my goal was to try to keep her guessing about what would happen throughout the day. This, of course, drove her crazy but I assumed that she suspected a proposal and so I worked my hardest to keep my mouth shut! For lunch, we went to The Sundial and ate an INCREDIBLE meal with the perfect view of Atlanta. My goal was to be suave and romantic throughout the day but, due to the extreme nerves that were growing by the minute, I’m pretty sure that I just acted weird and awkward.
After lunch and a coffee stop, we made our way to Peachtree City as I enjoyed listening to Morgan guess ALL of the potential destinations down 85 South. I’m telling you, she is SO NOSY. The whole drive, I barely spoke a word because I was trying to finalize the perfect proposal speech in my head.
After lots of delaying and driving aimlessly around PTC, we finally pulled up to The Bridge Community Center. Why propose here, you ask? Well, it was here that I asked Morgan to be my girlfriend exactly 5 years from the day! This is also where we had our first kiss (church parking lot….super romantic?).
So, finally the moment had come and I wanted to sprint to the proposal spot! Remember that grandiose speech that I had been perfectly sculpting in my mind? Yeah, it didn’t quite come out the way that I had planned. Despite my lack of eloquence, I asked Morgan Danielle Branch to marry me and she said YES! 5 years is a longgggg time to date and it’s been filled with lots of waiting and hoping for the future. But as I look back on our 5 years, I’m very sure of one thing: Morgan was worth the wait.
-Caleb
Caleb & Morgan, I love you both so much and I am so excited for the two of you!
Now Enjoy some of my faves from Saturday! :D
