Hi everyone! I’ve been wanting to start my Wedding Wednesday series for awhile now and there’s no better thing to start with than my (long overdue!) engagement story!

Fast forward back to before COVID, Brendan and I had a trip planned to Antigua on the first week of March. We had bid on a trip in a charity auction the year before and I upgraded the trip to a brand new, 5-star boutique resort as his Christmas present. We were really excited about the trip and I was thinking that he MAY decide to propose on the trip, but he did a really good job throwing me off the scent!

We did go ring shopping prior to the trip in January, where I tried on some different diamond sizes, but he pretty much already knew what I wanted. Unfortunately, the ring I wanted was going to be a custom setting, and they said it would take 6-8 weeks! So after that, I figured that there wouldn’t be a proposal in Antigua, because it wouldn’t be enough time!

Leading up to our trip, Brendan was sending me signals that made me think he had a ring and I was so confused! He told me to make sure I got any beauty treatments I needed done before our trip (and he hates when I spend money on those things, so that was a sign!). I listened to him and got everything done: nails, hair, lash extensions, brows. Two days before we left, he told me that he didn’t want me to be disappointed, but that there would not be a proposal since he couldn’t get a ring in time. I kind of flipped out – not because he wouldn’t propose, but because I had spent all that money on beauty treatments and it wasn’t going to happen!

I was still unsure if he was going to propose or not, because he could have just told me that to throw me off the scent. So I was still watching for signs when we left for the airport. He took one of his bags to the bathroom with him instead of leaving it with me to watch, so I thought he might have a ring in it. When we got to security, they inspected that bag and they didn’t pull out a ring box, so I thought maybe I was wrong. Things kept going back and forth and I kept changing my mind! I decided to just enjoy our trip and not worry about it anymore because it was driving me crazy!

We got to our hotel room at the Hammock Cove Antigua resort and they had given us an upgraded oceanfront room! The room was honestly a dream! It had a private infinity pool on the outdoor patio, which we used during so much of the trip. There wasn’t a lot of nightlife at the resort and only one main restaurant for dinner, which was amazing. Some people might like more going on at the resort, but we loved the quiet and just being able to relax. The resort is very small (only 42 rooms) and all of the staff knows you by name. It was the most incredible place I’ve ever stayed!

We got to Antigua on a Tuesday, and he proposed on Thursday. On Thursday morning, we had booked a couples massage. When we got to breakfast, Brendan surprised me with a “photo shoot”, so at that point I thought I knew what was happening. He’s always my blog photographer when we’re on trips, so this was the biggest sign that he was going to propose. He said he wanted us to have the most relaxing day ever, so we went to our massages and then hung out by our private pool the rest of the day until I got ready for my golden hour photo shoot. At this point, by the way he was talking, I really thought maybe he HAD just hired a photographer to get some nice photos of us.

We were supposed to be ready by 4:30pm and went out to meet our photographer. By 4:45pm, nobody had arrived. Brendan called the photographer and this is when I KNEW what was happening. He sounded SO panicked on the phone. It turned out that the photographer had FORGOTTEN to put our appointment down in his calendar, and he had given his wife the car for the day so there was absolutely no way he could make it. Brendan was freaking out and some of the hotel staff came over to see what was going on (I later found out that they knew he was proposing!).

One of the staff members knew of a photographer on the island, and called him immediately. He said he was on the other side of the island but would try his best to make it there before sunset. I later learned that Brendan had wanted to propose during golden hour because he knew it was my favorite. Luckily, the photographer ended up getting there with time to spare! We walked around and took some couples photos, and then we went into a cute pink gazebo that overlooked the bay. At this point, I was almost shaking because I knew it was coming.

The photographer waited until the sun started to set and took some more photos of us. Then Brendan got down on one knee and proposed! I blacked out a little bit during the actual proposal, but I know what he said was amazing. I was ugly crying from the second it started. The ring was gorgeous and I have no idea how he snuck it past me (I was the one who put our passports in the room safe). The photographer kept trying to get us to pose for some photos, but I kept crying and had to take breaks. I can’t even write in words how happy I was at that moment, it was honestly the happiest moment of my life. It took me so long to meet him and I wasn’t sure this day would ever come!

We realized we had an audience, some people had been on the beach at the time and watched the proposal and they came over to congratulate us, and then we went to have a celebratory drink. I was so in shock I wasn’t sure I could even call anyone, I honestly couldn’t stop shaking! We finally called my mom and Brendan had called her earlier in the week to tell her and ask her permission, she had been waiting ALL DAY for us to call!

The hotel staff made us a cake to celebrate and we bought a bottle of Dom Perignon to mark the occasion! We took most of the evening after dinner calling our friends and family and it was just such an exciting evening! We spent the rest of the trip basking in the glow of the engagement and it was so nice and relaxing. The hotel staff took such good care of us and we owe them all so much for finding a photographer for us at the last minute for the proposal! It was one of the most perfect days of my life and I can’t wait to go back and visit!

I’ll be posting more about our experience in Antigua and everything we did on the trip once it’s safer to travel. Let me know in the comments if there are any other topics you’d like to hear about for Wedding Wednesday!