Life Update! A Proposal in Paris

Why, hello there! It's been a minute, hasn't it? I'm not really sure where to start with posting again, so I thought I'd share a bit of news just in case you haven't been following along on Instagram or TikTok. If you can't tell by the photos, I'M ENGAGED!

I started this blog all the way back in 2009 as a 16-year old living in York, Pennsylvania who had never left the East Coast and dreamt of moving to a big city and traveling someday. I also had a new boyfriend at the time, Derek, and this space is where I documented some of our earliest days together in high school, my "long-distance" move away from him to Philadelphia for college, my even longer-distance move to London for several months, moving in together and our life here in Philly after 4 years of seeing each other every so often and now, finally, our engagement! 

Last October, Derek and I took our first international trip since pre-COVID days. I was debating whether or not to go somewhere we haven't been before, but after years of limited travel we decided it would be best to go to two cities that are incredibly special to us - London and Paris. Derek had visited me for a week while I was studying abroad in London back in 2015 and while he was there we took an overnight bus to Paris, a city we had never been to before. I immediately fell in love. The art, the architecture, the parks, the food, the pastries - just head over heels. Derek and I were wandering around one evening and trying to find a good view of the eiffel tower (of course, lol), we were walking on the Passerelle Debilly when suddenly we started to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle! I remember being so shocked to see it in real life and even if it sounds a little cheesy, it was a surreal travel moment I'll never forget.

Fast forward 7 and a half years later to October 4, 2022 and Derek is leading the way, telling me that he has tickets for us to go to the "aquarium" (I know the aquarium might seem random but Derek loves aquariums and zoos so I wasn't really suspicious by this lol) when we're walking on this bridge once again. He asked me if I remembered us being there in February of 2015 and insisted that we take a photo since we took one here all those years ago. I honestly have no idea what was said after Derek got down on one knee, I was so overwhelmed with happiness. I felt like I couldn't even process my thoughts! I don't even remember saying yes, the next thing I knew Derek was sliding the ring on my finger.   

Afterwards, I realized a photographer had been capturing the moment all along. She had been only a few feet away but I was so caught up in what was happening I didn't even realize she was right there. We took a few photos after the proposal and then Derek surprised me with an additional photoshoot afterwards. We would go back to the airbnb to change and then meet our photographer, Lindsey, at the Tuileries Garden for a full engagement shoot. It was just the most beautiful and magical day.