Adorable and Amazing . . .

I had to piss off my fiance before I proposed to her.

I know, that’s a horrible thing to do, but it’s a little more complicated than that.

I knew I wanted to propose to Sarah about three months into our relationship. I knew I was in love with her far before that, and I even knew I was dating her before she did. So when the opportunity to travel to New York was presented to us, I decided to propose to Sarah there. Of course, we had talked about marriage and our future but Sarah didn’t know when or how it was all going to happen. I really wanted this proposal to be a surprise, a proposal of a lifetime, memorable, romantic, and something that showed my unconditional love for her.

We began planning our NYC adventure and during this time I was secretly rushing around trying to get everything prepared for the proposal. I had to get ahold of her father who was in South Korea at the time, talk to her mother, brother and my family about the setup. Everything was going smoothly except for the fact that I just couldn’t get ahold of Sarah’s dad, so I had to ask Sarah’s mom to ask if she could help me by finding out when I should call.

That’s when everything went array… Sarah’s mom called Sarah, and told her to tell me when to call. …

Basically, at that point, Sarah realized what I was up to and I had to fix the situation. I did call her dad in Korea when her mom told me to, and I did finally get ahold of him. But since Sarah knew about the phone call, I had to try and distract her and wouldn’t tell her if I talked to him or not. I hoped that would enable me to still pull off this surprise somehow.

Three days before the trip, I secretly picked up the ring and asked my mom to help by sewing the ring into my jacket pocket, and then I stuck the jacket into my camera bag.

Three days later, we were off to New York City. Just so you know, along with the phone call from her mom, everyone that Sarah had talked to was telling her that I was going to propose in New York, so she really believed it was going to happen there.

And then this is when I had to piss her off and get her thinking differently. And I don’t mean just a little, I had to get her really frustrated. I purposely wasn’t the most pleasant person to be around and then later had to let her down soon after we landed in New York. While we were sitting on the subway I began telling her that I actually hadn’t gotten through to her dad to get his blessing and that she shouldn’t be expecting a proposal, I didn’t want her to have her hopes up all trip long.

It was so hard lying to her and she looked so dejected. Little did I know, she knew I was lying but thought I was lying about even trying to call her father or me doing any efforts towards a proposal! Internally, Sarah was really heart broken and even thought about breaking up with me when we got back home because of the lie and the fact that I wasn’t treating her very well! Luckily, she loved me enough to let it go and try to make the most of the trip.

After we got off the subway, we went directly to 30 Rockefeller Plaza to purchase tickets to the Top of the Rock. What’s funny is that it was pretty cloudy and drizzly in New York that day and Sarah mentioned that maybe we should save going to the Top of the Rock for another day, but I was determined to propose and explained how excited I was to go to the point that I would pay for TWO days of tickets if we had to.

So we went, and once we got out to the top of the building, I was so nervous and began shaking. Sarah went straight to being a tourist and took out her map of the city and started to point out buildings. While she wasn’t looking I went to my camera bag to grab my “camera” but pulled out the ring. I had to call Sarah’s name a couple of times to get her attention and when she finally put the map down and looked down at me with the engagement ring box in my hand, the expression on her face was pure shock.

She cried, I cried… I stumbled through my speech, got down on one knee, and she said “YES!”. And then we embraced each other standing 850 ft above New York City overlooking Central Park as the rest of the world stood still around us. Definitely an experience we’ll never forget.

Now you might be wondering about the subtitle of this story: “Sparkle confetti scattered over top NYC from an engagement ring box”… well, remember when I mentioned that I asked my mom to help me by sewing the box into my pocket. As some of you may know, my mom is a very crafty person and loves to wrap presents. So without me knowing, she not only sewed the box into my pocket, but she also added confetti inside the box, wrapped a ribbon around the ring, added stickers to the actual box, and then put the box into a crinoline bag and added more sparkly confetti and little crystals. Yup, she went all out. And Sarah had to go through all of that before getting to the ring… so all of that stuff flew out of the box and fell overtop New York City. I’m sure there are still bits of my mom’s confetti scattered all around the Big Apple today.

Amazing wedding proposal Adam, we love the photos you sent us!!! And for the friends and family, make sure to keep updated on their wedding adventure at their website . . . www.mywedding.com/sarahyooadambeasley

Always remember that your parents love you and have loved you from the first day. When your anxieties run high, they are an invaluable support system. They’ve spent so much energy over the years doing their best to raise you and now it’s time to plan one of the most important days in yours and their lives.

Lots of times, weddings are one of the only times families get together in a large group to celebrate. Remember your parents want to show you and your fiancé off to their siblings, families and friends. Also, if you come from a blended family with step-parents or siblings, remember they care about you and love you as well. Don’t forget about them.

It’s a nice touch to have the parents coordinate their outfits with the wedding party. You don’t want them to clash with the colour scheme! They can choose to purchase a dress in the same shade as the wedding party, or highlight the wedding colour in their accessories and corsage. Don’t forget to get boutonnières for the fathers as well.

Here are some basic rules mothers of the bride and groom should keep in mind when purchasing the attire you will be wearing to the wedding.

Rule One: never outshine the bride or groom. This is fairly simple and easy to adhere to.

Rule Two: don’t look like you are trying to outshine the bride. Once you go to clingy, ruffled or revealing you look like you are trying to steal the show from the happy couple.

Rule Three: only the bride may wear white and the parents shall not wear black. The exception to this rule is the fathers, as they can easily do a fantastic black tuxedo or suit, just as long as they don’t look better than the wedding party! Even thought this particular rule is being broken more often by guests, it is very inappropriate for mothers to do so. Wearing black to the wedding suggests you are not happy with this marriage taking place.

Rule Four: it is the happy couple’s day; keep your attire from causing whispers that would detract from them.

Rule Five: don’t wear anything too casual unless the wedding is a casual one.

Seems like a lot of restrictions, doesn’t it? Really, these days so many shops have come out with fantastic outfits for the parents that the selection is almost mind-boggling. No more do mothers have to wear the chiffon-covered pastel dress! A tailored two-piece suit with a mid-knee pencil skirt is almost universally flattering and feminine. If a pencil skirt doesn’t work with your body type, you can go for an A-line. If the wedding is a more formal affair, go with a long skirt.

Take a day and go out shopping for your outfit with your child. Do lunch, try things on and ask for their opinion. It will give you some bonding time and alleviate some of the stress that comes along with planning the wedding day.