I had been hoping the proposal was coming soon. Wally and I had talked about when he could save up for the ring so I knew about when he would have enough cash for the ring. I told my girlfriends the night before that I thought we were entering one of two possible “high probability” engagement zones. My spidey senses were on high alert! The morning of the proposal, I did a ring box scan of his pockets (nothing) and a once-over of his outfit looking for nicer clothes than normal (nope)...no signs of an imminent proposal, so I went on to the salon to get my hair cut and color. Later in the day, we were meeting up with our friend Stephanie at the Falling for Local Festival, showcasing local arts, crafts, foods and beer. Little did I know what Wally had planned for me...

Lauren didn't know when I purchased the ring, which I did a month ahead of time. I reached out to her friend Stephanie because I wanted to do something where she could take pictures of the proposal. Lauren wanted to go to this festival at Dix Park and she had already invited Stephanie. Since it was going to be the three of us, I knew right then (about a week before) that I wanted to propose that day. Plus, she was getting her hair done! While she was out with her girlfriends the night before, I picked out a spot near the festival across a parking lot where there was a little house called the Flower Cottage. The problem would be getting Lauren over there. The day of the proposal, the three of us walked the entire festival, and Stephanie decided to go back to the entrance to get a beer since she was kid-free for the afternoon. We arrived at the entrance and I mentioned that I heard of a pretty cool Flower Cottage just across the parking lot. Lauren was set that Stephanie needed a beer. The three of us kept walking across the parking lot, and she finally gave in to go see it. Once we arrived, she loved it and snapped a picture of the exact spot where I was planning to propose. But things didn't quite go according to plan... Stephanie wandered off to “take a phone call,” i.e. prepare to take photos, and we continued walking up to the cottage. I asked her if she wanted to sit in a rocking chair on the front porch of the house and she, of course, said no. Lauren peeked in the windows and started telling me all about the inside of the house and how beautiful it was. I couldn’t get her attention! She didn't turn around until I said her full name and I got down on one knee to propose, with a post of the house in between us, instead of that great rocking chair shot - see the photo on our photos page! :-)