STORY TIME: THAT TIME WE GOT ENGAGED

This year marks some big anniversaries for my husband Cooper and I. In July, we will be 5 years married… But this month will be 5 years since I sat on a park bench and said the biggest “yes” of my life. Sounds dramatic when I put it that way, but besides being surrounded by more friends and family and the legality and pageantry of a wedding, getting engaged is still saying “I choose you.” And yes, that was a very quick turn around from engagement to wedding as you may be thinking if you know our wedding date. Sometimes, I’m not even certain how we planned something in such a short amount of time. So don’t mind me as I reflect on the day we got engaged, tell you some of my favorite parts and talk about anything I would do differently.

“And…action!”

In 2017, my husband had a production company he was a part of with his old roommates. They made a hilarious scripted web series and a couple features. One of those feature films had some scenes that would be filmed in NY. So a much more stripped down crew and a few of the actors flew out, and I tagged along mostly for a trip to NY, but also because they wanted to include me in a new scene. We arrived to a pretty and quiet corner of Central Park. I was a little confused when they started to mic me up for a scene with no lines, but I decided to just keep quiet because I wasn’t about to tell anyone how to do their job, and I would just do mine. My character was meeting with the lead actress and I would sit on a bench with my phone until she came over and tapped me on the shoulder, and we would leave, leading into the new scene (a scene we had shot in a local LA coffee shop). I remember thinking to myself “this feels a little unnecessary, but I’m not here to tell them how to make a movie” lol. So, I sat on the park bench as they began to roll.

This might be one of my favorite details, because it just added so much more to the moment of getting engaged: we actually ran the scene with me and the lead a couple times. She’d walked over, tap me on the shoulder, and we would walk off. I reset for the 3rd or 4th time and this time it wasn’t my friend in the movie tapping me on the shoulder but Cooper, who, in one swift movement, was down on one knee in front of the park bench. I think I held my hands up to my face as he simply and sweetly asked if I would marry him. As odd as I thought this scene was, I will still not picking up on the fact that this would be the moment he would ask. I have to say, he was pretty smooth at executing it all.

All Heart Eyes

We had discussed types of rings I would like before (pink was thrown around), but the heart shaped was more perfect than I could’ve imagined. I’ve always been a costume jewelry girl. I think because I know I’m not the most responsible person and I’m always afraid of losing something nice. That quickly changed when I had a piece I would keep for years and hopefully pass down. Cooper had a local spot in Pasadena, CA called Darbini create the ring and I’m still so happy with it! I think the heart shaped diamond was perfect for me. Someone who wanted something less traditional, but still classic.

Things I would change

Now that it’s been 5 years, I don’t think there’s much I would’ve had him do differently. Some of his family was there as a part of the project and a part of me wishes he would’ve invited mine to witness it, but I know that would’ve made the whole charade harder. Plus, after that “yes,” we went back to our hotel and called everyone we loved and then just ran around the city just the two of us. I get the appeal of an engagement party directly after, being around those you love, but for us, I didn’t need too many parties (we didn’t even really want a bridal shower or couple one). So spending the day in one of our favorite cities just floating from the euphoric feelings of the day was perfect. I think I would’ve chosen a different outfit since I was in character, but her look was pretty neutral at least. And I would’ve made sure to leave the tissue out the shot (let me know if you spot it, lol). I think I had it in my pocket at one point and then somehow it ended up on the bench for all the pics! Nothing a little photoshop couldn’t fix, but pretty funny I never noticed in the moment before blasting the photos everywhere.

Final thoughts

If/when you ever decide to get engaged though, make sure you have some honest conversations about any expectations. At that point, we both knew we were ready because of conversations that we both wanted to take this next step. And he knew that I didn’t really have any particulars when it came to the “how” of that moment. I just wanted it to be about us, and that whole day really was. There really isn’t one perfect way!

Photos by: Jessie Lyric