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An Engagement!

Two weeks ago our oldest Lindsey got engaged to her boyfriend Morgan.

He took her to a little winery that has become “their place” and proposed to her in the vineyards. The super sweet owner of the winery helped him with a lot of the details, and then Morgan had parents, grandparents, siblings, and a few other special people come out a bit later to celebrate with them.

Lindsey and Morgan with both sets of parents.

The happy couple were introduced by this sweet girl, Lindsey’s best friend from high school, who also happened to be Morgan’s law school classmate. Despite the fact that Lindsey and Morgan are the same age, went to the same college, and ran in some of the same circles, their paths never crossed. Maggie to the rescue!

Lindsey’s sister-in-law-to-be gave her this book, which is perfect for our girl.

We hosted an engagement party back at our house later that afternoon and had the most perfect springtime day to celebrate.

It was one of the very few days of the year – not too hot, not too cold, too early in the season for uninvited mosquitos – where we could throw open the dining room doors that lead to the patio and just let people wander in and out.

I love this photo of Morgan with his law school group. I’m imagining him filling them in on how the engagement went down.

Ditto for Lindsey and her sorority sisters.

I took advantage of the girls all gathered together to snap this photo, which I love.

But I think I love this photo that my sister-in-law took of me taking their picture more. How cute are they?

Our family of four, now five.

Morgan’s sister (Lindsey’s sister-in-law-to-be) showed up to the party with another gift: this inflatable engagement ring. That girl has a knack for fun gifts!

Obviously forgetting that I’m a blogger, I took no pictures of the party details. I can tell you that I wanted some little nods to a winery theme, so here’s what we did:

  • We bought all the bottles of wine for the party from the winery where the proposal took place.
  • I asked the winery if they had any extra corks with their name on them (boy did they!) and they gave me a bunch that I sprinkled on the various tables.
  • I made sure one of the items on the buffet was a big wooden board with grapes and cheese.
  • I ordered these personalized napkins with Lindsey and Morgan’s initials and a little wine glass on them.
  • I also ordered glittered cupcake toppers in both diamond ring and wine glass shapes and put them on white cupcakes that I ordered.

I can also tell you that parties take on a life of their own. We thought this might be a low-key affair since it was the day before Easter, but everyone was able to make it and a bunch of people stayed late into the evening. I even ran out and got pizzas later that night as the party showed no signs of letting up and most the food from earlier in the day was gone.

I told Tom later that you could throw that party 100 times – same date, same people, same event – and it would only turn out that way once. Do you know what I mean? Maybe the fact that there was a full moon had something to do with it?

None of those are complaints, though…just the opposite! It was a once-in-a-lifetime day and evening that we’ll remember with joy for a long, long time.

6 Comments

  1. Congratulations to everyone!!! Happiness is quite evident. The engagement party looks like it was a great hit, as you described. We will want to know all the details and of course, expect lots of pictures of the showers, wedding, etc. etc. When is the wedding going to be? Reading about this happy time on yet another gray, soggy day here in Overland Park, brought a ray of sunshine. Thanks!

    1. Nancee, I’ll try to be better about taking pics as we go along. Yes, we’re getting water logged here in KC, aren’t we? Stay dry!

  2. Congratulations! I just returned from my niece’s bridal shower in New Jersey. Tis the season! I am expecting to hear of an official engagement announcement from my oldest son in the next month or two. He is already in his mid-thirties, and we are just holding our breaths until it becomes official- it will be our first family wedding as well. I keep telling him no one is getting any younger! I may copy your ideas with the cupcake toppers and napkins, but as they live in Manhattan, not sure if there will be any formalized engagement festivities. You were obviously all clued in about the actual date of the official engagement, so curious to know, how far in advance did your future son-in-law tell you – Thanks, Ellen

    1. Oh, Ellen, I hope you get that announcement soon. It’s so much fun! We knew about a month in advance and it was SO hard not to let anything slip.

  3. What a handsome couple!! Your daughter is going to make a beautiful bride, Julie. The proposal had such a romantic, sentimental place. And the party looked like tons of fun. Loved all your details! Have a wonderful time planning!!

    1. Thank you, Katie! I’m enjoying following along with your wedding details too. Well, except for that last post. I hope the trip went well for her.

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