Our Engagement Story

My Engagement Story

I am so excited to share, here on the blog for those that might not follow me on Instagram, that I am ENGAGED! In my head, I thought I would wait a few weeks before posting anything on social media, but I was too happy to wait. Marco proposed to me on Friday, July 10 and after we told all of our closest family and friends, I waited a whopping two days to post about it on The Gram, haha.

Since this is a blog, I figured I would give some background info and share our story with you. I honestly don't talk about Marco much on here, or on my makeup Instagram account, because I like to keep this to makeup and not romance, ya know? Anyways, I guess I'll start from the beginning - if you care to listen!

Marco and I met in...middle school? The summer going into high school? High school? All of those early 2000s years blend together in my mind, but I would say we met around 13/14 years old. So, pretty young. I was one grade older and if I could go back to that time/those memories, I would say that we probably met through our friend Zach.

I had random, short-term boyfriends throughout high school, and Marco had a couple of steady girlfriends that he dated back then, too. We had a little stint during his sophomore year and my junior year of high school when we were "talking," but it was short-lived. See the prom photo below - we didn't go together, but "made out" that night, lol. PS - don't you love the phrases we used to use back then, like "talking?!" Do kids still use these phrases?

Aside from going to high school together, we also went to the same college, in Rochester, NY. Marco was a freshman when I was a sophomore, and we ended up having one of the same friend groups. Ya know - keg parties on the weekends together, nights out at the bars, all the typical college stuff. I had a boyfriend during parts of my sophomore and junior years, but definitely had a crush on Marco. He wasn't really boyfriend material back then if I'm being honest (hahaha), and I probably wasn't the greatest girlfriend material at that point, either (this was during the time of the *original* Four Lokos, LOL).

Fast forward to 2018. I was still living in Rochester, working for a company that I absolutely hated, and had a thought in the back of my mind: what if I moved to Charlotte? It had been a thought for years, but something I was always too afraid to pursue. Moving seemed scary. I randomly applied for a job with Bank of America (in Charlotte), actually got it (which I was 100% not expecting), and had 24 - 48 hours to make a decision on whether I would accept it or not. I ended up turning it down. BUT - part of me was sad. I think because I actually wanted to move to Charlotte (just not for that job). Plus, the timing wasn't right. It was smack dab in the middle of summer 2018, aka my wedding makeup season. I couldn't just up and move to a new state and leave all of my brides without the makeup artist they hired.

I happened to have one free weekend (which, if you're a wedding vendor, you know is very rare), and it was in about one week from when I turned that job down. I had been texting Marco for a few months at this point, just as friends (somewhat flirty, but still just friends), and said I was thinking about spontaneously flying down. He convinced me to do it, and before I knew it, I was on a flight to Charlotte. A very terrible flight, might I add - I was stuck at a layover in Baltimore for about 10 hours and arrived WAY later than expected.

The weekend ended up being a ton of fun, Marco was an amazing host, and the two of us hit it off. I wasn't planning on going there to establish anything with him - simply to check out the city and see if it was a place I could truly imagine myself living - but...we did. We hit it off just like we always had in the past. And this time, maybe just maybe the timing was right (expect we were living in two different states, no big deal).

We did long distance for more than a year until I was able to move to Charlotte in November 2019 (after my already-booked 2019 wedding season was over). It wasn't easy, but it was so worth it. Not that it wasn't easy with Marco - it was just hard and sad to not see each other whenever we wanted to. But again - worth it.

Living together has been amazing - yes, even during a quarantined pandemic (minus a few little arguments, if I'm keeping it real). I love hanging out with him. I love his family. I love that he is my best friend and I can tell him anything. I love our relationship and friendship. I just love him. He constantly supports me, uplifts me, and is there for me in every way. I love building a life with him, together (both literally and figuratively, as we are currently in the middle of building a house to call home).

Now for the proposal deets...

The day that we count as our dating anniversary is July 6, which fell on a Monday this year. I had a super busy week, and needed to wake up at 5:00 am on Tuesday, July 7, so we decided that we would celebrate our anniversary on Friday, July 10 instead. Marco had mentioned a few weeks prior that we should have a nice dinner at home, in our apartment, but still get dressed up a little bit. Ya know, instead of the sweatpants and mesh shorts we've been living in since early March. Which honestly, I didn't find weird at all. Marco is a pretty romantic guy and has done sort of similar things in the past.

Friday night rolled around, and he was acting completely normal. Nothing weird or out of the ordinary. He mentioned that he should start cooking, so I went into our bathroom to get ready and actually do my hair and makeup for once these days. Marco gave me a glass of wine and told me he would tell me when I could come out. I wasn't suspicious because he did something like this for Valentine's Day this year, where I waited in the room while he worked on a surprise.

When it was time for dinner, Marco opened the door to let me know but told me to wait 10 seconds to come out. Again, I didn't think too much of it. But as soon as I stepped out of the doorway, I knew...and I immediately started crying. I could hear the song "The Bones" by Maren Morris (which at one point a while ago I mentioned to Marco would be a really pretty wedding song, and he remembered), and tons of rose petals all over the ground. As I slowly walked out (well, I don't know if I was actually walking slowly or if everything was just slow motion in my mind), I turned the corner and there was Marco, dressed in a suit, down on one knee.

I was full-on ugly crying at this point, pretty uncontrollably, hahaha. He proposed with some beautiful words, and a beautiful ring. Just the two of us, at our first apartment together. And the rest? Well - I guess they say it's history.

I love Marco so much, and cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with him.

Now...how the heck do we plan a wedding? Please spam me with your tips - especially if you did a destination wedding because that is what we are thinking! And if you made it this far...thank you for reading.