I just wanted to start off by saying I LOVE my engagement story. This is a blessing because some people hate their story. There was no helicopter ride over the city, no rose pedals and candles, and my name wasn’t up on the scoreboard at half time. I asked Spencer that my engagement only include 3 things:
1. Be filmed or photographed so we have proof it actually happened
2. Be personal in a “only he and I get it” kind of way
3. Not be in pubic aka baseball game, restaurant, karaoke night etc...
And the boy did me well!! Boo-ya! So this is a long and complicated story. I’m sorry. Leave now if you don’t love me.
First off, I “hinted” to Spencer that I wanted a Leap Day engagement some time ago. I mean let’s face it, how can that NOT be good luck. I mean they made a whole movie about it right? Also, we knew we were getting married on July Friday the 13th. How cool would it be to have my engagement and wedding on two very rare “holidays?” If you know me, it is TOTALLY me. BUT at last my heart had given up since Spencer had informed me he had to work an extra 10 hours this week and he had a test. I did not think a leap day engagement was in my future. I could only hope he would propose to me before the snow melted.
Tuesday (day before Leap Day) night I was doing the dished and I always take my rings off when I do this (trust me this is all important). As many of you know I have a ring with Spencer and I’s initials that I always wear. Seriously... shower, face wash, dishes... only time it comes off. Later that night Spencer came over to study and I realized I didn’t have my ring on. I searched for it frantically. I remember putting it on the table and then throwing away garbage on said table... so naturally I put on some cleaning gloves and dug through the trash. Spencer begged me to stop and told me that he would help me look for it tomorrow. REMEMBER... this is all very important.
The next day I woke up really sick and had to miss work (I’m sure Spencer was sweating about that). When Spencer got home from school that afternoon, he offered to take me to get a Dr. Pepper (because we know that cures all illnesses). BUT before we left he told me to change out of my pajamas because he had a surprise for me. [Now did I think at this point I was getting proposed to... no. Because Spencer had work in 45 minutes and we weren’t in any hurry... but I still hoped.]
We got my DP, and as we were pulling up to the “secret location” Spencer turned to me and said “I know you had your hopes up for something special to happen today and I didn’t want it to be a complete disappointment so I brought you to look at puppies.” Low and behold he brought me to a pet shop. Obviously we weren’t getting anything, but Spencer knows how much I love puppies so it did make me feel better.
After that Spencer dropped me off home and went to work. He was scheduled to work until 9pm. My roommates had later asked me if I wanted to go to the mall but because I was sick I didn’t feel like walking around watching them buy things. So they convinced me finally to just go get some food with them. I would later find out they were instructed to get me out of the house.
So FINALLY we arrived home. I opened the door... and there on the kitchen floor was my volleyball. Not just any volleyball, but the volleyball I got at the volleyball camp that I met Spencer at when we were 16 years old. And he had signed it for me. I still didn’t suspect anything. I just thought it had rolled out of the kitchen closet or something. Then as I moved to the hallway, there was Spencer's jacket. I still didn’t suspect anything. My first thought was that Spencer had gotten off work early and was pulling some kind of joke on me and hiding in my room... but then I spotted the trail of items leading down the hallway to my bedroom door; items that meant a lot to me and Spencer... and they were in chronological order; like a timeline. My eyes began to get misty. I just kept thinking “No no no... this isn’t... it can’t be...
The jacket following the volleyball was the jacket he wore the first time I saw him 3 years later after volleyball camp. Next was the Halloween costume he wore when we went to a very eventful Halloween party. Next were my purple skinny jeans and a movie ticket. They were the jeans I wore on our first “real” date and the movie ticket was from the actually movie we had seen that he had found in his pocket 2 years later. Next were the 3 movies we watched together right before he left on his mission. Then the box of letters I had written on his mission. Those were followed by some random costume items we had worn and won at an arcade. Next was our pair of matching Rock ‘n’ Republic jeans and Nixon watches because we always match. After that was a Jazz jersey and his snowboard to represent the Jazz game we went to and the time he taught me how to snowboard. And last... was my bulldog stuffed animals he gave me for Christmas last year to represent the puppies we had gone to see that day.
Finally when I had reached the end of our timeline, I opened the door... and there, in a blue striped shirt that brought out his eyes, was Spencer... with a box in his hand. My face turned bright red! His roommate filmed the whole thing and I can’t even tell you what I said when I walked in because I had my hands over my face and I was in complete shock. Spencer then looked at me and said “Ashley, I’ve loved every moment that brought us to this point... and I want to make a lifetime more. So Ashley Celestia Barnum, [he then got on one knee] will you marry me?” I was in too much shock to cry or talk so I just nodded my head and kissed him. I just kept thinking “This is it. This is my moment. This is my engagements story.” Oh and did I mention... when he opened the ring box there was my ring! The one with our initials! That’s why I said in the video “You had it!” (meaning my ring). He had watched me dig through that garbage knowing that my roommate had stolen it right out from under me to give to him.
To wrap it up, Spencer’s roommates all jumped out of hiding (they had been filming it and taking pictures). Once we were over all the shock, Spencer told me he had reservations at 3 different restaurants. We ended up going to La Jolla Groves, a super nice restaurant with amazing food in Provo that I had never been to before. The waiter probably thought we hated each other since most of the dinner we were texting and calling loved ones and figuring out how to work Facebook’s relationship status. All in all I am one happy girl. I couldn’t have asked for a better love story; I couldn’t have asked for a better proposal; and on Friday July 13, 2012, I know I will have the greatest wedding in the world because I will have my best friend by my side!
(P.s. his roommate has the video of this but I will upload it later when I get it from him)
(P.s. his roommate has the video of this but I will upload it later when I get it from him)
Spence practicing first with his roommate
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