In honor of Throw back Thursday:

Ten years ago, yesterday, my husband asked me to marry him. We had just graduated college and he asked me to go to dinner to celebrate. It was a good idea to celebrate, but my best friend was visiting from out of town and I couldn’t figure out why we needed to go RIGHT NOW. We were going to be celebrating with family and friends that weekend already.

I got dressed up for a fancy dinner at a surprise location. As Seth got out of his car, one of my roommates (Jess) exclaimed, “He’s wearing a suit! If he proposes, you better call me!”. To this day, Seth is annoyed that she could have spoiled the surprise. However, as dense as I am, I laughed and said that wouldn’t be happening for a long time, and that we were celebrating graduation. DUH.

He took me to Nicollet Island Inn. It is quiet, fancy, and the food is fantastic. The service is great (my water glass has never been filled so many times EVER). It overlooked an area where horse drawn carriages drive by. I joked about Cinderella. Seth and I had a great leisurely dinner and he suggested we get dessert, even though we had both already admitted we were full. He had me pick. I don’t remember what we had, but after a few bites I got up to use the restroom. When I returned it was gone; he had scarfed it down and paid the bill. I found out later he didn’t like the dessert but needed to get moving, as we were on a schedule. He had ordered dessert to kill some time.

Still completely unaware of his intent, I followed him outside as he suggested we go look at those horse drawn carriages I had been commenting on. I agreed. As we walked up, a woman with awesome dreadlocks asked if he was Seth. He said yes and helped me climb up. I was so surprised, and STILL, had no clue as to what he was up to.

We drove through the cobblestone streets along the river and he talked about how he loved me. It was not until he got down on one knee that I finally got with the program and started crying. Lots of tears. I don’t think I even saw the ring until I’d said YES a bunch of times and he’d put it on my finger. At that time, I also became aware that people sitting on the patios we passed were congratulating us.

That weekend we celebrated our ‘graduation’ with our families and my best friend. Seth had asked my parent’s permission and his mom already knew as well. My dad cornered me when we came in to get a peak at the ring. We announced we were engaged. Our family was happy and supportive and surprised! My best friend was shocked, requesting warning next time for news that was going to make her cry, and my brother asked Seth why he didn’t ask HIS permission to marry me (sweet protective brother-who was also happy for us).

This past weekend, we took a trip back to the Nicollet Island Inn and wandered around by the river. We saw the carriages and reminisced about that special day. I think the meal was much more relaxing for Seth this time around. A day worth remembering. It began my life with my best friend.  I love you Seth.

Then                                                                        Now