I’ve been meaning to write about my 10.20.2020 proposal for a while, but as y’all know, it’s been a crazy year! Everything since the proposal feels like a whirlwind and it’s crazy to think that a year from now I’m going to be a married woman 🤣 #adulting. Wedding planning has kicked off, and although it’s a stressful time to plan a major life event, it’s also been very fun to be in this stage of my life.
First things first,
How we met
Javi and I met in June of 2015 at Balcony Bar on Magazine Street in New Orleans! Maggie and I had just had the best dinner at Brigtsen’s and I was meeting up with Javi’s sister after dinner, but she never showed up! I showed Javi around my favorite neighborhood spots at the time and the rest is history.
Javi had been backpacking through Europe earlier that year and was just spending the summer in NOLA with his sister…he ended up staying for 5+ years.
The proposal
After dating for quite a few years, we had obviously started to talk about the whole marriage thing. In fact, we had picked out the venue where we one day wanted to get married back in February! I figured we’d be engaged by the summer, but this strange year altered Javi’s plans a bit and he kept delaying it because he had hopes that he would be able to move forward with his original plan.
The original plan
When Javi was 20 years old, he went to Paris with his mom for spring break. He was fascinated with the Eiffel Tower lights at nighttime and told his mom that he would one day propose to the woman that he was going to marry in front of a lit up Eiffel Tower. Javi was going to trick me into going with him on a business trip to Paris (he works for an airline and had planted this whole story back in January about a business deal he had to take care of over there) and propose the night we got there. However, 2020 happened and there was no way he could be able to make the Paris plan happen.
What actually happened
Since we would not be going to Paris, Javi brought Paris to our home. He had been acting a bit weird all day, and insisted on driving me and picking me up from a facial appointment I had that afternoon. When we got back from my facial he said he was working on a surprise for our beach trip to Cinnamon Shore and that I needed to stay in the room for a bit while he finished up. I was very hungry and was being a brat on the way home #hangry. He stopped by CVS and got me some Combos and insisted we would eat later.
When we got home, he made me put a blindfold on and he put me in our guest room, I figured maybe he was going to propose on our beach trip so I was like okay I’ll stay in the room 🤣. After about an hour he asked me to come out and the house was pitch dark and he was in a suit (thankfully, for some reason I was wearing a dress that day and not my usual athleisure). He gave me a handmade Air France ticket and took me to our dining room area where he had set up a bistro-like table, and a projector by the window where you could see the lit up Eiffel Tower. It was magical and couldn’t have been more perfect.
We would have loved to have a big engagement celebration soon after, but 2020. Instead, we had a fabulous engagement trip to Cinnamon Shore in Port Aransas, TX where we enjoyed beach bonfires, s’mores, fabulous meals, ocean views and quality time together.
Ring details
I am so obsessed with my ring y’all. He got me exactly what I wanted; I was pretty specific and I highly recommend you tell your man exactly what you want. Yes, it’s nice to be surprised but an engagement ring is something you’ll wear forever and you want to make sure it’s perfect.
I debated a lot on the color of the band; should I go traditional and have it be platinum? Or should I ask for rose gold since most of my jewelry is rose gold? I loved how rose gold makes the diamond pop and I’m not known for being super traditional so rose gold it was!
The ring is from James Allen (14K Rose Gold Six Prong Knife Edged Solitaire setting and a 2.2 Carat diamond). I love it so freakin’ much! Javi decided to buy it online after we had a terrible experience at a Houston engagement ring jewelry store; I didn’t really care where it was from as long as he enjoyed the process of designing and purchasing it!
We also got it insured through Jeweler’s Mutual because we’d both die if something happened to this ring. I highly recommend you get insurance on your engagement ring, the premiums are very affordable and they cover everything (even international theft/loss of your ring).
When’s the big day? and where?
Now the extra fun part, the wedding! We will be getting married on Nov 6, 2021 (God willing) in Antigua Guatemala at a luxury boutique hotel called Pensativo House Hotel. I am from Guatemala City and have always dreamed of getting married at Antigua Guatemala, it’s a small city UNESCO World Heritage site surrounded by volcanoes and is renowned for its Spanish colonial buildings. I’ll be going to Guatemala for a little over 3 weeks in January to do some major wedding planning and can’t wait to share more about it!
This year has taught me that you don’t need grand places and destinations to have special moments. Most of my 2020 magic happened right at home, including my engagement! Thank you for all the wonderful wishes y’all have sent my way the past few months, I’m so happy to be able to share this journey with you guys!
xo,
