Last weekend Charles and I finally went on my surprise trip he gifted me for my birthday back in February. Although I did not know where we were going, I made a preliminary list of options since I knew it was driving distance from Atlanta. Once I saw which direction we were heading, I crossed a few off until we arrived at The Ritz Carlton on Lake Oconee! We were greeted with the best service and immediately dropped our stuff off so we could explore. Then, we grabbed a quick drink at Gabby's before getting ready for our dinner reservation (without knowing what was going to happen, I remember telling Charles multiple times that he did not need to wear a jacket if he didn't want to... especially since a golf shirt and jacket in May was unnecessary. Little did I know, he wanted to wear the jacket to hide the ring box!)
Since we were ready a little early, we made our way back to Gabby's for drinks. We still had time to kill so Charles casually mentioned that the valet guy suggested we explored to the left of the property (back story: Charles really did accidentally leave his shoes in the car, which ended up being a great decoy since the valet guy had to drive him to the car on the golfcart). Without question, we started walking that way. At one point I made a comment that his hands were sweaty, but he seamlessly brushed it off and redirected the conversation to how sweaty Marshall's palms are and how it can be a medical condition. We hit a dead-end at the 18th green, and Charles just turned around and started walking the other direction so I didn't think anything of it. Charles then said he was going to walk down to this private dock, so I followed suit. Again, I thought it was anti-climactic because as soon as we walked out there he quickly suggested we go back. However, as soon as I was facing the other direction, he pulled my arm back and was getting down on one knee when I turned around. He got right to the point and asked me to marry him (in his exact words- "I know I can sometimes be an a**hole, but I love you so much and hope you will marry me."). I kept asking if he was serious and if the ring was real (he said, I wish it wasn't!). I then reminded him to actually ask me the question, which I said yes, and then I had to remind him to actually put the ring on my finger. 😂 It was the perfect setting with no one around except us, and we soaked in the scenery before heading back to the resort.
I suggested that we just soak up the engagement only the two of us and wait to call people, so we headed to the indoor bar for a drink. Little did I know, Sarah and Sam had been waiting in the parking lot anticipating a Facetime to indicate the proposal had happened. However, I never called so Charles discretely texted them to head inside. While I was facing the bar, I felt a tap on my shoulder and was so surprised to see them there!! Sarah and Sam joined us for dinner at Linger Longer to celebrate. We had the best dinner and enjoyed a delicious bottle of Newton that my dad had sent to us. It was so fun hearing all the "secrets" that had been going on behind my back, my two favorites being that Charles went to the Ritz the Monday before to "walk the property" and that the Friday before my dad had stood up in the middle of Five and Ten to announce to the restaurant that Charles had asked to marry me. Never a dull moment with him!
Sarah and Sam headed back to Athens and Charles and I were greeted with the sweetest surprise back in our hotel room. I initially didn't plan to call my friends until the next day, but decided to try a few of them after all. I forgot it was a Thursday night instead of a Friday, so many did not answer at 10:45 pm! However, we reached Hannah and Sadie on the phone to share the news and then let everyone else know the next morning.
Another surprise I was not aware of was that we were heading to Athens Friday afternoon to have a family dinner with his parents and mine. We decided to soak up the pretty day poolside and grab lunch at Gabby's before making our way to Athens. Once again, the hospitality was amazing as the pool staff brought us each 2 complimentary drinks. Although most of our time was being on our phones responding to congratulatory texts and calls, we had the best day, and even met a guy next to us at the pool that was proposing that night to his girlfriend!
Back to the proposal site!
The fact that I do not have any pictures of us and our families in Athens shows that we were having fun the entire time! We arrived at my parents around 3 and waited around for the Walkers to arrive. Once they did, Sarah and Sam came over with the boys and we hung out in the driveway watching the boys ride bikes while we sipped Palomas. The Pittards headed home and the rest of us helped finish prepping for our steak and baked potato dinner while also drinking celebratory champagne. Mom made a yummy salad to go along with dinner and Dad slaved away at the grill, which paid off with perfectly cooked steaks and shrimp! We enjoyed each other's company sharing stories and doing some planning over many glasses of wine and yummy red velvet cake. The next morning we had breakfast and introduced the Walkers to Swedish pancakes! Once they left, Charles and I went on a quick run and then grabbed lunch at Chops and Hops before meeting up with Kendel and her new boyfriend at Wire Park (great choice as we wanted to avoid the graduation crowd downtown!). From there, Charles headed to Augusta to spend Mother's Day with his mom and the Avery/Pittard families had a fun dinner at ACC to celebrate. The next day, Mom, Dad, and I decided to go to Emmanuel Episcopal Church to scope out the wedding venue. Then, we went over to Sarah's to have lunch for Mother's Day. Charles came back to Athens to pick me up and we headed home as a newly engaged couple!
January 20, 2024, here we come!
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