La Tour Eiffel. Even if you have not been to Paris it evokes some sort of emotion. For me it was a kind of romance & glamor that only existed in dreams or days gone by, & certainly not something that could exist in my reality. But that all changed.
Rich & I set out for the tower on our first full day in Paris, each with our own agendas {unbeknown to each other of course}. We enjoyed our daily dose of pain au chocolat & crepes au chocolat {seriously, we are in Paris. Chocolate for every meal is quite okay} we walked through one of the small parks below the tower. It was early still & few people were in the park. We stopped at the pond to admire the ducks {because the Parisian mallard is so much more chic than the American, no?}.
What occurred next is still as hazy as the morning it happened. I snapped a photo of a duck, looked over at Rich to discover he was down...on...bended knee! What!?! I am not sure if he held my hands or I clutched the camera, but I do know he asked me to marry him & I do know that I said YES! As in "yesofcourseohmygoodnessIcannotbelievethisishappening. Okay breathe." He stood up & pulled the ring out of his pocket. The ring that he carried around everyday in his work bag for two weeks before our trip & for 3 days in Amsterdam & 1 day in Paris. The ring that he, with a bit of help from his mom & sister, picked out by himself. The ring that is absolutely perfect & the first real piece of jewelry that I have owned & actually worn. Then I cried. I knew when the day came that Rich proposed to me it would be a surprise. He always said it would be. Was it ever!
Eventually we did climb 668 steps to the second platform of the the tower. The haze added to the dreamy feeling I was in. We decided not to climb to the top, but this was close enough to the sky for me!
When we came back down {though my heads were still in the clouds!} we went back to the spot where he proposed to snap this photo...just as the sun came out. We walked around Paris for the remainder of the day, visited Les Invalides then went back to our apartment in Montmartre for some wine to celebrate!
I will be back to share more photos & stories from the rest of our trip tomorrow!
Oh my goodness! HUGE congratulations to both of you. When I met you both (at stART, I think?) you were so darn cute together I figured you were already married. And that, my dear, is a good sign in my book.
Have fun designing your wedding invites!
Posted by: Angela | October 15, 2008 at 11:40 AM
I just died a little bit inside from romance...I had a feeling this might be the breaking news that you were planning on announcing!!! How wonderful! This is a story worth telling a thousand times and you'll never get tired of it! Best wishes for a lovely engagement period, a dreamy wedding and happy, long life together!
Posted by: Alissa | October 15, 2008 at 11:55 AM
felicitations! quelle histoire charmante. sans doute tu feras de belles invitations pour tes propres noces...
Posted by: kathryn | October 15, 2008 at 12:28 PM
Lovely lovely lovely. May you have many years of Parisian moments!
Posted by: Amy P | October 15, 2008 at 12:50 PM
How wonderfully romantic!! Congratulations, Sarah!
Posted by: carrie | October 15, 2008 at 02:42 PM
congratulations, what a storybook-perfect tale!! (and i'm sure you'll have the most gorgeous invitations ever!)
Posted by: sandy | October 15, 2008 at 04:01 PM
Congratulations! What a romantic thing.
Posted by: Ali | October 15, 2008 at 06:27 PM
What a perfect, romantic story! Best Wishes!
Posted by: molly | October 15, 2008 at 06:41 PM
congratulations!!!
Posted by: Sarah | October 15, 2008 at 07:17 PM
congratulations! that's wonderful news...such a lovely proposal story. :)
Posted by: Petrice | October 16, 2008 at 01:52 AM
How wonderful! Congratulations, sounds perfect!
Posted by: jan | October 16, 2008 at 12:19 PM
Congrats!!! Sounds like an amazing fairytale proposal!
Posted by: Sarah Brueck | October 16, 2008 at 04:43 PM
Yay yay yay! What amazing news! Can't wait to hear details about your upcoming plans :)
Posted by: heather smith jones | October 20, 2008 at 12:23 PM