Happily Ever After

A little teacup and a serving tray walk into a tavern and sing a couple show tunes and the rest is history... You may notice Beauty and the Beast is a big inspiration for our Disney themed Fairytale Wedding. That isn't just because of Andrea's love for Disney... Beauty and the Beast is where our couple's love story begins. Andrea was a freshman and Connor was a sophomore in high school when they met. Though they were both part of the choir program in school and shared a common love of singing, they did not become friends until musical season began. Andrea was thrilled to be cast as the part of "Chip" in Beauty and the Beast, but little did she know that this role would lead to a new found love for Disney as well as a future prince charming of her own. As time went by, Connor and Andrea would find themselves in the same friend group. It wouldn't be until Andrea's Senior year of high school and Connor's Freshman year of college that they began dating.

If Connor had it his way, our couple would've gotten together a lot sooner, but Andrea wanted to wait till she was ready to ask Connor to be her boyfriend. What is considered to be the first date was July 4th, 2015. Connor had asked Andrea out to dinner before going to the Yukon Park to watch the fireworks. Though triggered from the previous fourth of July when Connor invited her to his house for his families celebration without informing her that she was the only friend from school attending, Andrea hesitatingly agreed to this "date." After having dinner at Olive Garden, the two went to go see the fireworks, and Connor decided he would try to hold Andrea's hand.. to which Andrea responded "no thanks." Sometime towards the end of that Summer where our couple's friendship had grown pretty strong, Connor confessed his feelings towards Andrea in the car ride home from an outing one day. As he is talking to her, Andrea is freaking out and texting her best friend Gina every detail of this conversation. Yet, Andrea didn't feel ready to express any feelings until later in the fall. On October 25th, 2015, Andrea Liggett decided to ask Connor Crain to be her boyfriend. As he was loading up his car to head back up to Stillwater for school, Andrea asked Connor to wait to leave, as she needed to talk to him. When she pulled up to his house, which was a minute away from hers at the time, Connor appeared a little concerned about the urgency of this meeting. The words Andrea exchanged to Connor were "so do we want to try this dating thing?" To which Connor replied "Yes!" As the two stood giddy for a moment, Andrea then asked "So are you going to kiss me or what?" That would be the first of a lifetime of kisses for our couple. Connor first told Andrea that he loved her very early on in the relationship, although Andrea knew that Connor loved her before they had even began dating. Andrea first told Connor Crain that she loved him one month after they started dating. They had both gone ice skating for the first time, and it was in the moment that Connor had fallen flat on his bum while skating that Andrea realized she loved him.

After about a million hints that Andrea had given, Connor finally decided to get a ring. It met all the specifications that Andrea had given: Small band, rose gold with diamonds in the band, oval stone, pink morganite stone, a halo of diamonds around the stone. Every time they had looked at rings he had "secretly" written down all the things that she said she wanted for her ring, and he made sure that his secret list had everything she wanted. He also got her a matching pair of earrings to go with the ring. The store also had a deal on diamond studs, so on an impulse, he got those too; he was very excited. The matching earrings were to be a Christmas present since it was just around the corner. He wasn't sure when to give her the studs but he knew he would figure it out, maybe valentines day. When he picked it up there were several boxes. There was the the box the studs came in, the box the matching earrings came in, the ring box, and then the little white box the ring box came in. These are important for later in the proposal story. Connor knew he wanted to ask Dave for his blessing. But, he also knew that Abigail couldn't keep a secret from Andrea if her life depended on it. So, when the opportunity presented itself he jumped on it. Abigail was going to pick up Andrea from work and they were going to Rayna's house. As soon as Connor heard she left he called Dave on the way to let him know he was coming. Connor and Dave had a good talk and Dave gave his blessing. When Connor got back home Andrea asked where he'd been and his reply was "I had some errands I had to run." Which under the circumstances (it was 10:00 at night, the town basically shuts down at 9, and he hadn't come back with groceries or food or anything at all) was very inconspicuous Connor, good job. Thankfully for him, even though Andrea was suspicious of what was going on, she had no clue what had happened that night.

Next came the plan for proposal. Connor knew he wanted both of their families to be there but he wasn't sure how to make it a surprise. Then, his mother Rayna reminded him that their cousin Nikki was the manager at a Texas Roadhouse. He called Nikki and asked if she could help him out, she agreed and they came up with a plan. Now all he had to do was come up with an excuse to take Andrea out to dinner without her suspecting anything, which Connor figured was inevitable but he at least wanted to try. The best he could come up with was that he had kinda messed up their anniversary a couple months back and he wanted to make it up to her. It wasn't great but it was something and Andrea didn't buy it for a second. *She immediately suspected that a proposal was incoming*. The next idea for how to throw her off the scent Connor blames on Rayna, his mom, as it was rather mean but also kind of funny.

Skipping to the day of the proposal. Andrea is posting snapchats all morning and afternoon, giving friends updates on what she assumed was proposal day. He spends all day fretting about his outfit and sending pictures to his mom and sister for their approval, and around 5pm goes to pick up Andrea. their reservation is at 7:30 so they stop to get some coffee and run an errand for his mom before heading to dinner. All the while Connor is panicking, trying to coordinate between both of their families and Nikki while Andrea is watching him struggle to poorly hide texts coming in through the bluetooth of Connor's truck. On their way to the restaurant, Connor has the thought while holding Andrea's left hand that after tonight, holding that hand will never feel the same and he gets very excited by the thought.

They get to the restaurant and the plan kicks in to motion. They are strategically seated in the back of the restaurant so they can't see the entrance. Here's the part that Connor blames Rayna for, because it was kind of mean. As soon as they order their drinks Connor pulls out a little white box with a bow on it, that you may remember from the beginning of this story, and hands it to Andrea rather unceremoniously. *Andrea is very confused by this*. The exchange went as follows, with Connor trying not to laugh the whole time and Andrea contemplating the state of their relationship if Connor thought that this was the right way to propose: Andrea: Whats this? Connor: Open it! Its a present! Andrea: You want me to open this right now? Connor: Yeah. Andrea: Right now?! Connor: Yes. Andrea: You're sure? You want to do this now? Connor: Yes. Right now. Andrea: OK... She proceeds to remove the bow and open the box, inside is a small black jewelry box. She takes it out and looks at him. *She is even more worried and confused than before. She thinks to herself that this is not the way to propose*. Andrea: You're sure?! Connor: Yes, open it. Connor is trying and failing not to smile. She slowly opens the box and finds two diamond stud earrings inside. *She tries to act happy and excited*. He can tell that she is disappointed and maybe angry too.* Connor, thinking he just pulled off a great joke, is then embarrassed to find that he forgot to take the price tag off the earrings. He quickly removes it and then excuses himself to the bathroom to double check that he removed the price tag from the actual ring, but luckily he hadn't forgotten that one. While he's in the bathroom Andrea updates friends on her Snapchat and informs them that she believes that the earrings are a decoy and now she's certain that he's proposing tonight. The rest of dinner went as normal as can be expected with Nikki coming in and out like a tidal wave, chatting about terrible customers, and leaving just to come back a few minutes later. Andrea couldn't hardly eat a thing because she is so nervous, Connor couldn't stop eating because he is so nervous.

They finish their food and Connor texts Nikki. Nikki comes over supposedly to walk them out and say goodbye. Andrea thinks that he must be proposing somewhere else since dinner is over and the they're leaving. As they're walking toward the exit Connor lets Andrea walk ahead and pulls out the ring box. He's nervous and his legs are starting to shake a little. As they walk past the last section of seats Nikki stops, causing Andrea to look around and see both of their families sitting to their right, waiting with cameras ready and filming. She stops in surprise and turns around to look at Connor, only to find him down on one knee holding a little black box with a ring inside. Andrea covered her mouth in surprise. Connor is so nervous that he forgets that there are words you're supposed to say when you propose. He panics and in a half whisper he mouths more than says "Andrea Liggett, Will you marry me?" With tears in her eyes she shook her head yes. Connor took her left hand and put the ring on her finger. Everyone in sight cheers. And the newly engaged couple finally get to start planning their happily ever after together