brett engaged 1
brett engaged 1
brett engaged 2

BRETT GETS ENGAGED:

The most exciting part of the planning process was trying to keep it a surprise. I was fortunate that my best man Dave was having a birthday about a week before I was planning on proposing. It was a good enough excuse to travel down to meet up with him and go ring shopping. The ring shopping process wasn't that hard either. I had a vague idea of what I liked and when I came across the ring that I proposed with, I knew it right away. I kept shopping to indulge the sales lady, but I went with my initial feelings... and it was perfect. I really loved it and I'm pretty sure Annemarie does too.

The process of the roses came about slowly... I had initially wanted to surprise her and see the surprise on her face. I was thinking about Christmas Day or the New Years count down... but it just didn't feel right. I wanted family to be close so we could celebrate with them, but I also wanted to have a special moment for the two of us. So I finally landed on the day before both our families were to arrive for Christmas and to draw it out over an entire day to build up the anticipation and let her enjoy the entire day's worth of excitement. I think that worked out pretty well too.

The end result for me left me a little sleep deprived, as I had to do most of my arts and crafts in the middle of the night after she had already gone to bed. I had to visit her office after I knew she had left the night before and I had to visit her couch and car sometime in the middle of the night after she had fallen asleep. I had no option but to let her roommate, Danielle, in on what was going to happen because she was at the office when I dropped off the rose at her desk. But I only let her in at the last possible minute, so she would only have to make it through one night. She also left the light on and the door unlocked that night.

SATURDAY 10 JULY 2010