And how he did it =]
A lot of work. That is what it took. Was it worth every phone
call, every spent minute, every dollar, every sleepless night worrying if
everything was going to work out? Yes. I would do it a thousand times over.
I had decided at
the beginning of May that I wanted to propose. I knew Whitney was planning on
making a trip to Nashville to see me on the 23rd, so I set some plans into
motion.
Working in
jewelry, you get to give ideas to guys every day on how to propose. I was used
to it..... until my time came around. I had to figure out a way of proposing
that was unlike any other suggestion I had ever given. There were so many
things I wanted. For those of you who know us, Whitney and I have been dating
for six years, so this had to be epic! College friends. Family. A pretty view.
A huge banner. Balloons. Flowers. Those are just some of those things that I
wanted.
The way I asked
Whitney out on our first date was with a scavenger hunt in Chattanooga, Tn. I
thought that since that had begun our relationship that it would be the perfect
way to take it to the next level, but I had to “kick it up a notch” (or 2-3). I
called everyone who had been there since the beginning for us. All of our
college friends and family had to put up with my nagging for about 20 days.
Some of our family and friends unfortunately couldn’t make it, so I asked
Telisha if she could film it! This girl is amazing at capturing a moment i’ll
tell ya. Perfect. Great job T!
This whole thing
was a secret that Whitney knew nothing about. She had gotten to my house from
Indiana on the Wednesday before I proposed. I knew that if anyone texted me
about the “plan” then my cover would be blown and the six year secret would be
ruined. So, I did the unimaginable........ I went without my phone for 36 hours.
I hid it. Out of sight, out of mind.
We got to
Chattanooga on the night of the 23rd. I made the suggestion that we see a movie
because I didn’t want to run into anyone who possibly knew. I was so “tired”
afterwards that I just asked if we could go back to the hotel. Everyone was
texting me to let me know that they got in safe and that the meeting time was
good for them. I had not seen my phone in a long while so I told Whit that I
would get the bags from the car... she offered to help... she wouldn’t stop...
finally she gave in and let me bring them in. She didn’t know that I was
setting aside a set of clothes to leave in the car for the next morning,
checking on the engagement ring that I hid in the spare tire and texting
everyone back who had just arrived. (I know... sneaky sneaky) I got back into
the hotel room and felt all the pressure hit me and all of the hard work and I
felt like I couldn’t move. I was so exhausted. I laid down in the bed and poor
Whitney (my little night owl) had to straighten her hair, paint her nails and
watch tv by herself. (She was not happy about that.)
After a
semi-solid night of sleep, my brain woke me up going a million miles an hour at
6:45am. I was due to get up at 7:45am. The plan was for me to leave and tell
her that I was gonna check out the continental breakfast and ask if she wanted
anything. In all reality, I would be going to my sister’s hotel room and
getting ready to get flowers and balloons. So there I was, laying still.
Looking at the alarm clock. Minute, after minute, after minute. Finally 7:45am
hit. A wake up call came to our room that I had originally told Whit that I
asked for 8:45. In a fake sleep drunken anger I called the front desk and
demanded another wake up call for the right time... (they were in on it too). I
got up, went over to Whit’s bed, gave her a kiss and got out of there.
This was the
day. The past six years, from the day we met until now, had all led up to this.
She would either tell me that she does want to spend the rest of her life
putting up with my craziness, or that she doesn’t.
I had 45 minutes
to pick up the camera from Whitney’s parent’s hotel, go grab her breakfast and
take a shower at my sister’s hotel. At 8:30, Bri and Telisha were gonna be
there to film “The Wake-Up” and then me buying flowers. After that, everyone
was going to meet at my sister’s hotel at 9:45 to begin the day. Well nothing
ever works out as it is planned with the Mullins family. The wake-up went well.
I had asked my sister to take Whit’s phone so that she had no access to any
sort of social media or calling. After that, I went to get flowers and forgot
my wallet. Telisha and Bri didn’t know this until they were there for a while,
but I left them at the store while I went back to the hotel to get my wallet.
We had a laugh about that. I couldn’t find the right balloons so I decided to
take Charlie and Rico to look for those during the scavenger hunt.
We got back to
the hotel and there everyone was: Brent, Karen, Jonathan, Rachel, Jacqueline,
Brandon, Rico, Charlie, Telisha, Bri, Lindz, Dave, Drew, Andrea, Evie, Leyah
and Micah. Everything was ready. I had made the huge 12 foot sign the week
before with my sister. Hand painted, drawn and cut. Blood, sweat and tears went
into that thing. The clues for the scavenger hunt were made. We were set. I had
a meeting with everyone telling them the obvious: Don’t mention anything about
the proposal, make small conversation and keep her there for 15-20 minutes at
each stop (that didn’t work). We all went our separate ways and the people at
the last stop all decided that we were gonna meet at my hotel once Whitney is
picked up.
Technical
difficulties. Yep. They happened. The battery died in the camera that Whitney’s
dad had let us borrow. By now, it had
been about 30 minutes past the time that Whit was supposed to be picked up.
After getting resolved, it was about 45-60 minutes past 10am. I can only
imagine what Whitney, without any contact with me or social media, was
thinking.
The next few
hours passed pretty quickly and we had gotten balloons. Everyone was ready to
head up to the final stop of the scavenger hunt, Sunset Rock. I had asked my
sister, who was driving Whitney, for extra time (they were blowing through the
stops) because we all were being shuttle from one place on the mountain to
another to avoid Whit seeing cars on her last stop. Thank you Corey. She did
give us extra time but when she left Whitney with her parents to come set up
for the proposal, her and Bri got lost. I was scared. All of it could have been
ruined. People were on the phone trying to figure out where on the mountain
they were. I called Whit’s dad to tell him “get lost”. (the only time I will
tell that man that phrase) Everything worked out and my sis and Bri got there
safe.
Nerves. That is
all I had left. Pure Nerves. We positioned everyone and the banner and gave Bri
the balloons. It was windy so it was a real trip trying to watch her control 12
balloons on the top of the mountain on a windy day. But it felt perfect. It was
70 degrees and there were 1 or 2 clouds in the sky. I was ready.
I saw her. Her
father was bringing her to me. I was hiding. I saw the look on her face. She
had no clue. She thought there were other stops. I came out to meet her from
behind the bush. I couldn’t swallow and I was shaking. I held out my arms and
gave her a hug. She was shaking too. Tears were welling up in her eyes. It felt
so right, so perfect. The rest was a blur. I didn’t remember what I said until
I edited the video (you should watch it). All I know is she said yes and I got
so excited about it that I hugged her and forgot to put the ring on her finger.
So, I got down on one knee again and slipped it on. It fit perfectly. Everyone
cheered and we took lots and lots of pictures. We all went to lunch and
celebrated. That wasn’t enough. After lunch, we went to an arcade/bowling/laser
tag place and stayed there until we were hungry for dinner. It couldn’t have
been more perfect.
Some say that
your soul sings a special song that only one other can hear. When that other
soul sings back, don’t ignore it. I didn’t. I am now engaged to be married to
the woman of my dreams, my soul mate.
I love you Whitney!!!
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