It is funny because when people asked when will you get married right after we got engaged, I assumed it would be around now. I just thought I would want an entire year to plan but Rusty and I were sitting around one day and said, "What are we waiting for?" So here we are, almost half a year married. I don't ever want to forget a minute of our engagement. It was a perfect weekend. I also promise that after this week, I will lay off the stories about my husband and I until October (our wedding).
I need to tell a side story before I continue you with the main story. A year ago, Rusty and I had just started dating. He surprised me with an impromptu trip to St. Louis. It actually pulled at my heart strings when he called me on Wednesday and asked what I had going on that weekend. I didn't have any plans and he told me he just bought a pair of tickets to a Card/Cubs game. I am a Cubs fan (yes, back off) and he loves the Cardinals. We packed up our bags that Friday and headed to St. Louis. I was so nervous about this trip because it was a test to our very new relationship. Can we make it three hours in the car together? Will I fall asleep while riding and bore him? Can we entertain ourselves? We went to the game that Friday night (Cards won...boo) and then out to a Irish Pub called Maggie O' Briens. It was perfect! We ended up dancing the night away, watching sports trivia, Rusty played in a ping pong tournament, we took pictures of ourselves with a strangers camera (I forgot mine) and he asked me to be his girlfriend!!
Back to engagement story: So Saturday morning rolled around and we decided to make no plans. We loaded up the car and headed for the big arch. When we got to St. Louis, Rusty had made a reservation at a historic hotel downtown. It was breathtaking! We went and grabbed lunch, visited the arch, went to the city parks and took lots of pictures. We decided to head back to the hotel so that I could take a nap and we wanted to exchange anniversary gifts. I had made Rusty a scrapbook full of photos, movie stubs, baseball game tickets, notes we had written each other and other mementos along the way. (Insert another side story: About three weeks before this I was wearing Rusty's jacket and pulled out a jewelry bag from the pocket. He grabbed the bag and walked off and never brought it up. I told Cheryl and she told me to not get my hopes up and that it could be anything.) Rusty gave me new house shoes and surprised me with a pair of diamond stud earrings. They were so beautiful, sparkly and perfect. This totally explained the jewelry bag. I took a nap but Rusty insisted on staying up and watching tv. I heard him leave the room at one point but was to tired to care. He woke me up about two hours later and wanted to get ready for dinner. Since we had a big lunch, we decided to find a bar and do bar appetizers for dinner. We had cheese dip and I had the best martini. We decided that since we were celebrating our anniversary that we should go to Maggie O's. I was sooo excited to go back.
We trekked a few city blocks away. I noticed a big family standing outside and was so happy to be back at the same spot he asked me to be his girlfriend. Rusty pulled his arm from away from me and stopped me. He smiled real big at me and said, "A year ago this is where I asked you to be my girlfriend. Who would have thought this would be the same place that I would ask you to be my wife? Katie Willeford (going down to one knee) will you marry me?" Without hesitation, I exclaimed "YES!" He put the ring on my finger, told me how much he loved me and we kissed and hugged. I was soooo excited. The family that was outside was telling us congratulations and shaking our hands but I noticed one of the people handed Rusty my nice cannon. Odd. We walked inside and I looked up to hear "SURPRISE!" Our family and friends were all there and ready to celebrate! Rusty had gotten our mom's and our dear friends (including Summer and Chris from Indiana) to come to surrpise me. Everyone knew what was going on but me for months! We toasted with champange and danced the night away. Summer gave me wedding magazines, a bride's Bible and a notebook to organize everything!
The day/night was perfect. I can remember every emotion from that weekend. I slept with my ring on that night and remember waking up already smiling. I also came to learn that the earrings were fake and only cost $8 but the trick worked. Once I got the earrings I didn't think anything about getting engaged; I was so happy to get the earrings!
Rusty is such an amazing man and this story further shows how much he cares for me, our friends and families! I am grateful for such a stunning proposal full of surprises!
I am including some photos too! Please ignore my goofy expressions! :)
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