We’re getting married!

Kindergarten at St. Paul’s, we were best friends.

My friend Amber told me she wanted to go to the zoo and look at the big cats (we’re cat girls). I said I would absolutely love to go with her to a zoo, and we researched the zoos in the area to make sure they treat their animals well (we love animals). The day came, and when she said she was coming to pick me up, I googled the zoo hours and said “babes the zoo closes at 6, we won’t have any time to see the animals?” And she made up a lie on the spot! She told me she had a friend who worked there who was letting us in after hours, so it could be just us in the zoo. I totally believed her! She told me to dress cute because she wanted to take pictures, again, I totally believed her. When we got there, she said her friend was going to let us in through the conservatory. When we walked in, she told me to walk first, and I was like “wait why, it’s your friend?”, but I walked first. And then I saw him. There was no friend who worked at the zoo, it was Justus waiting in the beautiful gardens to propose to me. They got me good, and it couldn’t have been more perfect.

Jenny’s recollection of the proposal is just of the day itself. My recollection goes back to weeks of careful planning, coordination, and an almost foiled perfect moment with an ill-timed gardener. Let’s run the clock back: -50 Days until Proposal- I searched for the perfect spot, and landed on the Majorie McNeely conservatory. Jenny is big on flowers (which you’ll see plenty of at our wedding) and the location would make for a gorgeous photo for the memory. So I scout the garden, and begin setting up a contract with the staff for a private after hours reservation. -18 Days until Proposal- I finalize a zoo visit cover story with Jenny’s best friend to get Jenny into the right place at the right time. -5 hours until Proposal- Jenny says she doesn’t feel like going to the zoo today. She almost accidentally decides to skip out on her own proposal. -1 hour until Proposal- I head out, saying I’ll be going out to the store to avoid suspicion. I quadruple check that I have the ring. -20 minutes before Proposal- I swap my clothes out, meet with the garden staff, setup the camera tripod, and wait. -30 seconds before Proposal- A gardener walks into the entry, just doing his typical job. I explain as fast as possible that I’m about to propose and he quickly walks back out. -Proposal- Jenny walks into the garden. She’s confused that the friend she was supposed to be meeting up with looks uncannily similar to me, then reality sets in. I walk her down the garden path, get down on my knee, and ask the big question. You know the rest.