Engagement Endorphins

Once you have a ring on your left hand, it’s hard to focus on much else. Let’s be real, ladies. All you want to do is stare at it, waive it in people’s faces, or make wedding plans (which also involves a lot of staring at the ring).

Let’s not forget what you actually are at the moment—engaged. The engagement is just as fun as the dating and the wedding.

 

“[Being engaged] gives you endorphins. Endorphins make people happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t.” From Legally Blonde… sort of.

Being engaged should make you happy. Don’t focus all your energy into stressing out about caterers and seating charts. Take some time to really focus on your engagement. Here are my three to-dos.

1. Engagement Photos. Take some photos with your fiancé, even if they aren’t formal. By this I mean take some cutesy shots of, “reasons we’re getting married” or “things I love about you”… or even “things I’ll never change about you”. You can make the pictures for that last one funny and serious, so things you really love or things that may get under your skin but you accept!
2. Weekly Date Night. It doesn’t have to be weekly, but make an effort to go out just the two of you (or even with friends) and lock down the hatches. Meaning no wedding chatter. Focus on the engagement. Remember why you’re getting married. If all you ever do is go out and talk about how many people you’re having in the wedding party, or bickering over attire, it’s not going to be smooth sailing.
3. Enjoy the right now. This is why you read the first two. Remember to be happy with the right now. Enjoy the time that is leading up to your nuptials. Enjoy solo time with friends. Having your own place. Enjoy things that are inevitably going to change. Even if that change is for the better, it’s still change. Life shouldn’t always be about “the next step”.

 

Emily

Hello, Engagement!

At the end of a performance of Hello, Dolly! one cast member called upon the help of the others to propose to his girlfriend of four years, who just happened to be part of the cast as well.

Maybe I’m a sap, but I absolutely love musicals. And if I had been in the audience, I surely would have lost it.

As “Dolly” and the man, Garrett Reynolds, are going back and forth, I love how the camera keeps zooming in on the unsuspecting girlfriend, Megan McGrath. Well, she’s unsuspecting until he mentions marriage.

When Reynolds finally “goes for it” and brings McGrath center stage, it truly is a standing ovation moment.

Don’t rush off after the proposal ends at about 2:15, though. Stick around to at least 2:30 to see the cast members hoot and holler and offer congratulations to their very own.

One thing is for sure: these two should look forward to a very talented family!

 

Emily

3 Ways to Propose With Shoes

Little girls are raised with a love of footwear. Maybe we owe this obsession to Cinderella, or maybe it’s simply part of our inner desire to feel pretty. Whether heels, sandals, boots, or tennis shoes—girls care what go on their feet.

If you are proposing to a woman who has a crazy love for shoes, then maybe you should consider incorporating them into the proposal! After all, you’re asking her a VERY important question—why not use her love language to do it? Here are my ideas.

1. Be Prince Charming.  Whether you’re at Disney World or not, presenting your girlfriend with a glass slipper, surrounded by rose petals, and an engagement ring in tow pretty much guarantees you can’t go wrong.
2. Propose with TOMS. Not the traditional Prince Charming or Cinderella? These Toms from Etsy could work! Not only are they unique and humanitarian-esque, but your girl can walk around showing off her proposal with more than just the ring on her finger.
3. Pull a “Runaway Bride”. This 90s movie had one wonderful proposal from Julia Roberts to Richard Gere. She hands over her running shoes, promising that she only wants to be with him and isn’t going to run away this time around. You don’t necessarily have to go this exact route, but surprising her with a new pair of her favorite kind of shoes, or even presenting her with your own “wedding shoes”, could definitely light a spark that could burn the rest of your lives.

If all else fails, take some pointers from this guy and don’t only invest in the engagement ring, invest in the shoes for the proposal.

Emily

Photo Credit: Etsy

Evil Queen Gets Her Happily Ever After

Lana Parilla who plays the Evil Queen/ Mayor Regina Mills on ABC’s Once Upon A Time is engaged! 

Parilla’s to-be, Fred Di Blasio, popped the question in Israel’s Negev Desert at the end of April. Talk about location, location, location!

“cant forget my new buds @LanaParrilla and Fred!..they made our Israel trip xtra special..much love! #Onceuponatime #Scandal,” Guillermo Diaz, ABC’s Scandal star and co-traveler of the couple, tweeted.

Sadly, no pictures of Lana’s ring or any details about the wedding have been released yet. Let’s hope they get a fairy tale ending “Regina” could only dream about!

Emily

 

Photo Credit: EOnline.com

U.S. Airman’s Surprise Proposal At Dance Teacher’s Final Dance Performance

Jamie, a dance teacher in a high needs urban school in Denver, Colorado, is about to make a huge commitment, giving a new meaning to “follow your heart”. She is getting ready to give up her job and move away from her friends to follow the man she loves thousands of miles away.

Lucky for her, he proves he’s truly worth it.

During her students’ last dance performance of the year, her boyfriend, a U.S. Airman, surprises her first with his appearance, and second with a proposal.

The best part? All the students’ reactions.

 

While I really thought they all knew what was coming, perhaps they just thought it was going to be a farewell, not a proposal. The fact that all the male and female students alike want to shake her fiancé’s hand is truly touching. You can tell their teacher’s happiness really means a lot to them.

All the pre-proposal footage on the video is wonderful and shows what an amazing person this woman is, but if you want to skip to the “good stuff”, scroll on ahead to about 2:00 when she’s waiting on stage and out comes her man in uniform.

As always, it brought tears to my eyes.

Emily

Today Show’s Savannah Guthrie Engaged

Anchor Savannah Guthrie of Today announced Monday her engagement to political consultant, Mike Feldman, after he popped the question this past weekend.

It didn’t take long for the 41-year-old’s coworkers to share their congratulations and joy with her. Matt Lauer tweeted the picture above of Guthrie showing off her ring with the caption, “Big news from Savannah!”

She definitely has an engagement-glow to her! Congrats to the happy couple!

Take a closer look at the ring:

Looking for a similar style?

Danhov

Emily

Photo Credit: Twitter

5 First Things To Do Once Engaged

Congratulations, you’ve got a ring on your finger! Before you dive into wedding planning and bridezilla mode, take a moment and breathe.

Are you breathing? Good.

Everyone is going to be bombarding you with what precisely you should be doing next. I’m definitely no expert, but I have been engaged (and am now a happily married woman, I might add).

Take it from someone who’s been there. After taking a few breaths (possibly to even out the sobs or hiccups), here’s what you can do next!

1. Get a Manicure. It may seem silly, but think about it. Your hand is going to get a lot of action. By that I mean you’re going to want to show off that fabulous ring on your left hand to every person you meet. The lady at the supermarket. Your coworkers. You family. Your friends. Before that happens, treat your nails to some spa-time so the attention will be on your ring and not your unkempt nails!
2. Insure the Ring. If your hubby-to-be skipped this step when he was buying it, go out and take care of it! You don’t want to be showing off your ring and somehow (probably because you were waving your left hand around while talking so the person would notice the rock) scrape the ring on something or lose a stone and then realize it’s not insured. You want that piece of love and memories to last forever—so protect it! Within the first few weeks of having my engagement ring, one of the prongs was bent and I was SO afraid the stone was going to fall out. Thank heavens it was covered and I was able to get it fixed right away!
3. Alert the Media. Press conference, if you please. After you’ve told the A-List (family and closest friends), get to sharing the news. Update your Facebook status, send out a tweet, upload an Instagram picture—do whatever it is you want to do to let everyone know about your current and impending happiness. It’s you’re time to let your love/relationship be the center of attention!
4. Buy a Wedding Planner. No, I don’t mean a person. Go out and find a wedding planner that you love and purchase it. Not a planner type of gal? Then go get yourself something, or subscribe to a site like Engagement 101, that gives you a fabulous taste of your to-be-nuptials and the engagement period without going into crazy mode right away.
5. CELEBRATE! Ummm… HELLO! YOU JUST GOT ENGAGED! Go to dinner with your fiancé. Plan a girls night with your closest friends and toast to you finally getting that ring on your finger. Being engaged is one step closer to being married and a time to enjoy. You enjoyed dating, now enjoying being engaged!

 

Emily

Surprise Disney/Military Proposal

Disney World is the place of dreams for people of all ages. It becomes an even more magical place when a proposal is involved.

This woman is standing there taking pictures and acting like any tourist in Disney World until her boyfriend comes up behind her. All we are told is that he’s home early from a deployment.

Her reaction is one she should be thankful was recorded.

When he comes up behind her. “No you’re not!”

After seeing him for a few moments. “I knew it!”

When he drops to one knee. “No you’re not!”

My favorite part is when he drops to one knee and she starts acting even more hysterical. Between being surprised with his homecoming, going to Disney World, and becoming engaged, I’d say she had one outstanding day.

The proposal ends around 1:30 of the video.

Emily

Ben & Jerry’s Custom Proposal

I have a confession—I love Ben & Jerry’s. I can’t keep it in the house because I will literally eat the whole pint of ice cream in one sitting (I’m not kidding).  If you’re proposing to someone who loves B&J as much as I do, then you definitely need to check this out!

Ben & Jerry’s will let customers request a personalized label for one of their yummy flavors! So, for example, instead of saying, “Chubby Hubby” (my absolute favorite that I can never find in my local grocery store), it would say, “Will You Marry Me?”

Not every store does this, so you may have to do some driving/digging/research into your local store (or, perhaps, not so local—depending on how far you’re willing to go).

All locations are different, but they pretty much have the same routine. All orders have to be placed in advance and are priced and packaged accordingly. Need more of the scoop (pun intended)? Contact the closest Ben & Jerry’s store and ask some questions!

But, come on guys. If you’re proposing to an ice cream lover, it can’t get much better than this.

Emily

Photo Credit: Head Over Heels

Cooking Class Proposal

It is amazing what lengths men will go to when planning a proposal. A free cooking class, signs, code words, multiple cameras, and a refrigerated surprise were all prepared for this one.

Jennifer loves to cook, and her boyfriend wanted to plan a proposal that would be remembered. She was told that they had won a cooking class at one of her favorite local kitchens. Little did she know what it would hold for her!

Her boyfriend, Nick, worked out all the details with the chef before the class. There were coded phrases (“Will you get a strawberry” equals “Set up the refrigerator camera”), signs (you see the assistant holding up a sign informing the other students he’s about to propose), and of course—the surprise waiting in the fridge.

You have to love that it takes Jennifer a while to even see the sign in the refrigerator (2:22 on the video). Frantically looking for the cream that the chef asked her to get must have really been keeping her occupied to not notice the sign surrounded by strawberries and roses!

The real kicker with this proposal? After going through all this hard work and getting everyone involved, the guy still gives an amazing speech. It’s not a simple, “Will you marry me?” which you would think would suffice after planning an amazing proposal. Oh, no. He lays it on thick, so much so that it brings just about everyone (or at least everyone we see on the video) to tears.