It’s True: Wedding Bells Are Ringing!

As some of you know, my boyfriend Matt proposed to me (!) while we were on vacation last week, and, of course, I said yes. I thought I’d diverge from book talk to blog about it!

In February, Matt told me that he wanted to go on vacation. We’re on a pretty tight budget, but when Matt gets something into his head–that’s it. There’s no arguing. Luckily he’s a reasonable guy, so I figured if he wanted a vacation, who was I to say no go?

So he booked us a flight to Tampa and then, over the course of the next few weeks, researched hotels and things to do. I, on the other hand, worked my tail off with my writing. Honestly, I didn’t know how I’d be able to go on vacation because I have so much work to do.  But since not knowing if you have time for vacation is usually a pretty good sign that you need one, off we went.

Matt had spent an unusual amount of time fretting over the hotel. (Do you like this? That one? The first one? This view? Or that?) I told a girlfriend: “I can’t figure out why he’s so stressed out about the stupid hotel! He’s driving me nuts!” I now realize that the hotel was probably the LEAST of his worries for this trip!

In turned out the the hotel he settled on was an amazing-a six-star resort called The Vinoy. The building is a restored 1920s, Mediterranean-style revival. Took my breath away.  Again, I should have suspected something given how gorgeous and random the trip was, but Matt has very fine tastes, so I didn’t really consider that this was an unusual trip. I am obviously a little dense.

Below are some pictures of the hotel.  The lobby was amazing, and in the evening people walked around in cocktail dresses and jackets, just because. I ate my breakfast on a veranda just as a thunderstorm was coming in. I LOVE thunderstorms. It rocked.

The night we arrived, Matt suggested we go to dinner; he found a gem of a restaurant: a local favorite. I put on a really cute sundress–one that makes me feel especially pretty and girly.  I’m so glad I did!

We went to walk on a beach called Pass-a-grille before dinner.  Pictures below.  The sun was setting and the sky was a mellow blue. The air was warm but not hot, and the beach was nearly empty. We took off our shoes and decided to walk in the surf, which was cool and refreshing.

Everything just seemed lifted up, like normal life but taken to a surreal, more beautiful and even holy place. But it wasn’t unusual exactly. Instead it was as if all extraneous distractions had been stripped away, and the usual beauty of everyday life was showing through. I felt so very taken care of–as if the whole universe had aligned to create the moment. And that was before I turned around and saw that Matt had stopped walking. Before I heard him say, “You know I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Matt had been asking me to stop walking for about a minute, but I’d been having such a good time that I’d said “What are you nuts?” I could have walked in the water forever. And because he couldn’t get me to move away from the surf, he went down on one knee right there in the water, in his nice pants and with his beautiful leather shoes getting washed up the beach by a wave.

I’ll be honest. I didn’t even look at the ring.

“Will you marry me?” he asked.

And I said, “Yes, yes! But only if you stand up!”

Not my most eloquent moment. But still, perfect. And it occurred to me how different real life is from movies, when–during a Hollywood marriage proposal–the seconds seem so crystalline and drawn-out, and the heroine knows just what to say and the most poignant way to say it. Instead I felt so overcome by the momentous beauty and importance of the moment, I could barely register it. All I wanted to do was say yes.

So, below you’ll find a slide show of some pictures taken at the hotel and just before and after Matt proposed.

Matt and I have been together for over eight years now, so when people ask if we have a date set yet, I tell them we don’t want to rush into anything drastic. But the truth is, if I could plan a wedding in a week, I would.

If you want to tell me your engagement stories–or your friends’–I’d love to hear them. And I’ll be picking last month’s “comment” winner for my next post, but I just couldn’t wait to share my news first!

Best and love,

Lisa 

Tagged as: Engagement, Lisa Dale, Lisa Dale Blog, Love, Pass-A-Gille, St. Petersburg, The Vinoy, Wedding Propsal