So it’s all a bit surreal – like it kind of came out of nowhere – like all of a sudden, I just woke up one morning and was like “Wow. How did THAT happen?” But while it’s all a bit surreal – it’s also true. Sarah and I are engaged! Our relationship which technically began March 8th entered into a new stage August 27th when I asked her to marry me and be with me forever. And she said yes! Which is so amazing!
So the question everyone has been asking (other than “Now wait a minute, HOW long have you two been dating?”) is “So, tell me how you did it…” So, I’ll fill you in. Last Saturday morning, while Sarah was out at breakfast with a friend (who helped me by keeping Sarah busy that morning) I went out to a friend’s house to get some things ready for the evening. Then Sarah and I went out for a hike at Red Top Mountain, and then came back to get ready for dinner at Hal’s. We got to dinner and we had a great little corner table with two dozen roses (which a friend had taken to the restaurant earlier in the day for me) – had a wonderful dinner, very elegant. After dinner, I drove Sarah out to “the spot” where our friends Jake and Mark (who we’ve asked to marry us next year) had set up the candles and my guitar out near this gazebo/lattice area. I didn’t find out until that morning that this beautiful little “spot” was behind the Gwinnett Senior Center (which was funny when Sarah said, “So, you’re taking me to a senior center?” as we pulled in) but it was a beautiful area and Jake and Mark did a great job setting things up.
Once we got there, I played “It’s Your Love” (a Tim McGraw song) and a song that I wrote for her that incorporated many of her favorite stories from Story People. After I sang the songs, I got down on one knee and knocked over a candle, which I quickly fixed and asked Sarah to marry me. She didn’t quite look at the ring at first, she just hugged me and said “Yes!” So after a minute or so, I was like, “Umm, do you want to see the ring??” She saw it and loves it – I found it in Palestine (Ramallah) this summer. After that we went to a friend’s house where many of our friends from Columbia Seminary and some of my friends from Princeton (who now live in Atlanta) were waiting for us to celebrate!
It was an absolutely perfect evening and Sarah and I are now officially engaged and planning to get married next spring. Also, Sarah has blogged her version of the evening here.
