I recently received blogging advice regarding the importance of penning special events while they’re still fresh on your mind. Thankfully, even though this special day took place three years ago, I still remember the sweet details.
It was November 2013 and we were en route to Douglas, GA to visit the Christmas tree farm. Pearce and his family had been visiting the farm for years to cut down their annual Christmas tree (in many cases plural). It was a tradition I came to adore and always enjoyed being invited to take part in. Secretly, I had always wanted a Christmas proposal. I dreamed of the different scenarios, watched adorable holiday themed proposal videos with my girlfriends (don’t even! I know you’ve done it too!) and secretly pinned images of sweet couples getting engaged underneath the mistletoe. Christmas proposals seemed like the most magical proposals of all, naturally. Now, I’m not sure if I let the cat out of the bag and told Pearce about my daydreams or if one of my girlfriends dropped him a hint, but he nailed it.
Apparently everyone knew this memorable event was about to take place, except me of course. Pearce had been busy planning the details, notifying everyone of importance, praying, carefully selecting the perfect ring, and even creating an ornament (that we still have to this day!) to pop the question with.
^^ a sweet pic Pearce’s sister snapped the morning of.
I had been asking Pearce if we had room in the car to cut down a tiny tree for my apartment. I do believe he told me that wasn’t a good idea on multiple occasions. Apparently it was really difficult to bring a living Christmas tree from Douglas, GA down to Lakeland, FL with a few days in between. Little did I know his refusal was a part of his grandiose plan to “put a ring on it” (in the words of Beyonce.)
Once we arrived at the farm Pearce wandered around with our nephew while I helped his family pick out their tree. Little did I know, during this time Pearce was finding the perfect tree for my apartment and adding something very special to it.
Pearce finally asked if I wanted to get a small tree for my apartment and of course I said “YES!!!!” because I’d been asking for months. We walked around the farm trying to find one and eventually reached a precious little tree when Pearce pointed out, “Look! This one already has an ornament on it!” I found that strange (wouldn’t you??) so I scurried over to see what on earth was going on. It was true. That one already had an ornament on it. It was a gorgeous bleached sand dollar (I have a thing for sand dollars) and it had “marry me?” written on it. Oh and there was a gorgeous sparkly ring displayed on the branch above it. (We now joke about this detail – can you imagine another girlfriend out tree shopping that day who may have stumbled upon this tree and thought that pretty ring was for her?! I bet her boyfriend would just go with it..)
It took a minute for everything to click and then Pearce jumped in to explain. Honestly, I don’t remember his exact words because I was so overwhelmed in that moment, but I do remember the feeling of pure joy that overtook me when I realized IT WAS HAPPENING. It was perfect. God knew exactly what I’d always dreamt of and gave me the desires of my heart plus so much more. Oh, and I said yes. Just in case you wondering about that part 😉
The moments immediately following Pearce popping the question included a bunch of: “babe!” “oh my goodness!” “how?!” “what?!” “really?!” and of course, “I love you!”
We were getting married. We were doing this thing.
P’s family snapped a few pics and then of course, Pearce was handed a saw to cut down our very first Christmas tree. I loved the heck out of that thing. And I now treasure the holiday’s with Pearce that much more because of this special day. I can’t wait to share this happy story with little Fussell babies when we take them to the Christmas tree farm each year.
I’ll never forget the hours that followed. We hysterically laughed and cried (happy tears, y’all!) as we called and Facetimed friends and family to share the good news. Turns out, I was one of the last to hear the news, but that’s okay. I sat with my sweet nephew, Lincoln in the backseat and he and I took a dozen silly pictures (which are now some of my favorites!). He then pigged out on his chicken nuggets while I took a minute to get a good look at the new rock on my left hand. I was shocked. It was mine?! All of a sudden I felt like a million bucks and at the same time felt an urgency to do some research on how the heck to take care of that thing.
^^^ Pearce’s sister, Kaysley and her husband Matt. So glad they were there to celebrate this happy moment with us!
^^^ Trying to get a picture of the siblings. Not always the easiest.
^^^ The ornament, ring, and tree.
Our engagement story is my favorite. There wasn’t a flashmob, no photographers, no large crowd. Just the guy I adore, asking me to be his wife. I couldn’t imagine it going down any other way.
Happy (almost) thanksgiving, friends! Thanks for reading our story.
xo, mckenzie
