If You Give a Man Whiskey and Sprite

He’ll actually enjoy an engagement photo shoot. Serious.

But let’s back waaaaaaaay up. Every evening when we get home from the gym, Tye likes to unwind and spend some quality time with…the TV. Tonight was no different. He announced our options for viewing pleasure were: “Baseball, football – or NCIS…you choose.” Thoughtful – but, I’ll pass. I let him know he could watch all three and do that flip-between-channels ad nauseam routine he so enjoys because I wanted to blog about all things wedding. He reminded me – “You wouldn’t have had a wedding without a proposal.” I do adore his analytical and pragmatic spirit. So in that spirit – I must rehash the proposal. The pivotal moment most (can’t say ‘every’ for the sake of political correctness) girls fantasize about – and long for. Our pivotal moment happened on July 28, 2012 in Atlanta (where the playas play).

Tye and I have had a running joke since the early days of our relationship. In familiar female fashion, I decided Tye was “the one” on day one (creepy). Therefore, it was hard to take the emotional, prescribed relationship steps slowly. So, I would make bold statements about “our future” and watch him cringe (but not really). All men love taboo topics like, marriage (this is a “not” joke).

His ready response was always, “If you buy me World Series Tickets (or a motorcycle), I’ll buy you a ring.” That was the deal (and we shook on it).

Tye loves Atlanta Braves baseball more than anything in the world (except maybe pizza, and me of course) so for his 23rd birthday, I bought him “a weekend in Atlanta” that included the good seats for the Braves vs. Phillies series and a “voucher” for a new Braves hat (Tye’s Braves hat is a solider…and probably as old as he is).

Friday: On our road-trip to Atlanta, Tye said he had two surprises for me. He gave me the first one in the car: A hot pink Southern Tide koozie. He said, “This is for your beer at the game.” FSU doesn’t serve beer at their games (bummer) so we were pretty pumped about being able to drink AND enjoy baseball. It’s pertinent to drink in style (and keep your beer cool).

Tye insisted that I had to wait for the second surprise (I hate surprises…they breed anxiousness).

Saturday: We enjoyed the afternoon by soaking up Atlanta (sitting in traffic, paying to park). We ate lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and went back to the hotel early to get ready for the game. Tye really wanted to get to Turner Field waaaaay before the game so he had plenty of time to pick out his new hat. So we made our way there around 5 (game started at 7).

When we got to the field, I asked Tye if we could take a picture by one of the giant baseballs and he agreed (Tye is not a fan of taking pictures…I make him do it though). Right before we had the picture taken, he said, “Are you ready for your second surprise?” Reached into his pocket and pulled out. . . a bracelet. It was a navy and pink “knot” bracelet that I had my eye on back in Tallahassee.

At this point, my stomach literally sank because when he reached into his pocket, my imagination went 0-60 and thought “ohmygod this is it!” and then realized that this was, not it. However, I do LOVE the bracelet and was excited about it (but mostly just defeated).

We finally went in to the stadium and I was getting a little irritated because Tye was walking SO fast. I have short legs – It’s tough to keep up. In my efforts to keep up with his pace, he explained, “I’m just so excited to find our seats.” Once we’d found our spot, Tye said, “let’s take a picture!.” I was a shocked because, like I said, he hates photo ops.

One of the ladies working in the stadium offered to take it for us so as we were getting into position, Tye turned and looked at me and said, “I know these aren’t world series tickets, but they will have to do.” He got down on one knee and whipped out the most perfect ring I’ve ever seen and asked the question every girl dreams of… “Will you marry me?”

He claims I put the ring on myself before even looking at it (half-true) but in reality, I just wanted him to know my answer immediately…and let me hug his neck and be an emotional mess for a few seconds while soaking up my most favorite memory in the whole world. “Yes, Yes, YES!”

We celebrated like true Americans with Burgers, fries and beer (no guilt). I don’t think I watched a second of the game. . .I was MUCH too busy enjoying the new bling. However, Tye let me know when it was over that the Braves won, which was a good sign for us.

Proposal, check.

Naturally when we returned to Tallahassee, the next step was to get an engagement photography session on the books so we could send out our save-the-date announcement. Having been wildly prepared ahead of time – thanks to Pinterest and secret boards and not-so-secret boards, I had already decided what type of photo shoot I wanted to do and the location(s). Well, two types. For Tye and our history with FSU Baseball (90+ hours at Dick Houser Stadium and far too many $2-Tuesday hot dogs), I wanted to have photos taken on the baseball field. BUT – I also wanted a rustic, country photo shoot, complete with cowboy boots and farmy-ambiance. Why decide when you can just have both? We booked the fabulous Laura Ross, who I cannot brag on enough. She’s actually transitioning to Newborn Photography in Texas – guess we’ll just have to get pregnant because I need her and her remarkable talent in my life. (No mom – I’m not pregnant, yet).

I mentioned earlier that Tye is not a fan of photos. And frankly, I’d like to meet a man who gets pumped about candid photos in horse pastures – and fake laughing. Before we kicked off this modeling session – I equipped Tye with a two-liter of Sprite and a handle of Jim Beam. By the end of our session with Laura, he actually said to me, “That was so fun – I really enjoyed that.” Shortly after, he passed out. Pretty sure he smelled like Jim for several days after.

But I still adore the results.