our engagement photos

Hello, lovely friends! Matt and I had our engagement photos done back in May, but I wanted to share them with you all today. We had a great time shooting with Samantha Floyd (she was so patient, and spent so much time with us) and now, we have these photos to look back on and remember this season of our lives! Here are few of my favorites:

I am very pleased with how they turned out!

We ended up taking our photos around Durham, including Duke University’s campus and library – how could we not, with our engagement story?, the Eno River State Park, and downtown Durham.

my engagement ring

I realized that while I've talked about my engagement, I never mentioned my engagement ring! 

Matt is not a fan of going ring shopping together, and so when he decided that he was going to propose, he did extensive research on diamonds, ring styles, etc. by himself. He definitely knows more than I do about the topic! The problem is, I'm not a big jewelry-wearer. I'll wear a statement necklace,  and Matt just got me a pretty Kate Spade watch for my birthday, but other than that, I'm a no frills kind of girl when it comes to accessories. 

I am still a girl, though, and can appreciate a pretty engagement ring.

So while my laid back attitude toward jewelry gave Matt free reign on style, it left him stumped on my ring size. So, he had to guess - and do a bit of thievery by taking the one ring I have in my jewelry box and secreting it away (I did not miss it). He was pretty close - I had to get it sized down a bit after we got back from Disney World, but I was still able to wear it without fear of it falling off my finger.

And here is what he designed!

It's simple, beautiful, and has a cathedral setting with two small diamonds on either side - in other words, it's perfect. 

As for the metal, it's white gold, which I have always been a fan of more so than yellow gold, but I think I'm changing my tune a bit - especially since it's one of the wedding colors!

For those of you who are engaged, what does your engagement ring look like?

the m & b engagement

Our engagement story is pretty epic, if you ask me. After the tears, hugs, kisses, and smiles from the moment were over, Matt realized that he set the bar pretty high. But if there's anyone to set the bar high for all guys everywhere, it's Matt.

I could not have imagined, in my wildest dreams, a more perfect engagement for me. Here's the story, from the beginning:

After Matt passed his prelims in mid-November 2013 (a HUGE presentation that determines whether or not you can continue on in the PhD program at Duke), he decided that he wanted to propose while on a family vacation to Disney World, planned the first week of December. The trip had been planned for months, but since he didn't decide on proposing on the trip until a few weeks before we were leaving, he had a short amount of time to find a ring, etc.

Matt thought that only my parents knew about what he was planning on doing, but when we were actually in Disney World he found out that my aunt, uncle, and cousin all knew as well. No pressure! He got in contact with Steph, a friend of his brother's who works at Disney, to help. Matt had an idea to propose in front of Belle's castle, since Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie, but Steph suggested that he propose in a new attraction in Magic Kingdom called "Storytime with Belle,"* since the attraction ends in the library (my favorite part of the movie, for obvious reasons). Steph orchestrated, along with her supervisor and everyone else in that section of Magic Kingdom, for ride to be held up while Matt and I stayed behind in the library so Matt could propose.** After I said yes, Matt had arranged for Belle to come out for a special meet and greet.

The pictures are so dark because the lighting in the library was pretty bad. We had a Disney photographer who took some pictures but when we went to view them later, we found out that she didn't have her flash on, and so the pictures were terrible. And so it goes, right?

We found out later that it is very rare to meet Belle individually, as she is kept on a really tight schedule, which is funny, when you think about it. My proposal was so famous that Disney employees in other parks even heard about it! Everyone at Disney went above and beyond to help make Matt's proposal the best.

Afterward, we were given special "Just Engaged" buttons that we wore around for the rest of our trip. It was very cool to have numerous Disney employees and even other vacationers congratulate us and get so excited that we actually did engaged in Disney World. We were also given bride and groom Mickey Mouse ears, with "Mr. Howe" and "Mrs. Howe" embroidered on the back, which we wore on our last day there. Matt needed a little coaxing to wear his!

Needless to say, that vacation will go down as the best in one of my life.

photo by Samantha Floyd Photography

*Interesting Note: throughout the day Matt kept suggesting we go on that ride, but I was not interested in the slightest, saying it was "for little kids." He spent most of the day trying to convince me to even go on the ride.

**Interesting Note Number Two: I was pretty sick the day that Matt proposed. Like, sore throat, runny nose, headache, fever. He jokes that I wasn't in my right mind when I said yes, and that I suddenly became better once he pulled out the ring!

Wedding Wednesdays: Congratulations, You're Engaged! Now What?

Since I’m getting married in May (!!), I thought it would be fun to write about the wedding planning process, for any new brides out there who are looking for guidance or advice. I figured I would start at the beginning – the engagement. After I got engaged last December, my mind was spinning with things that needed to be done.

Celebrate!

Don’t forget to celebrate! Since I got engaged the first day of my vacation in Disney World, Matt and I agreed that we would enjoy the week that we had and not start diving right into wedding details. Tell your friends and family, enjoy the special attention, and pop open that bubbly!

Get your ring sized and insured

Since I don’t wear really any jewelry at all, Matt had to guess at my ring size, and was off by a few sizes, though it did still fit (loosely). It will be hard to be parted from your ring for a few days or up to a week, but it will give you piece of mind that you can wear it in the shower and not worry about it going down the drain!

Talk to your insurance agent and get your ring insured in case of theft or loss. They will need to see the appraisal, so be sure to have all the proper paperwork so everything goes smoothly.

Start talking about a wedding date

You don’t have to decide the next day when and where you are getting married, but it is a good idea to start thinking about when you would like to get married. Matt and I both knew right away that we didn’t want to get married in the winter (too cold) or in the summer (too hot – North Carolina summers are brutal!). Narrow things down first by seasons and then go from there.

Create a wedding Pinterest board

If you don’t use Pinterest, it can be a great tool for planning a wedding. Unlike most girls, I didn’t have a Pinterest board set up of my “dream wedding,” so I had fun (and still do) pinning ideas for the big day. Your board will also help you determine any recurring themes or ideas that you are naturally drawn to, which will help with planning later on.

The most important thing to remember is to enjoy your engagement, especially the beginning! There will be time to start delving into the nitty gritty wedding details! And congratulations!