The Proposal- Part 2

It’s about time that we finish this story, yes?

I mean… since we get married in 2 months and all.

If you missed it or need a refresher, check out part 1!

Back to the weekend when Jesse proposed:

After a not-so-restful night of sleep (I woke up twice thinking I had dreamed it all), our crew met for breakfast in Waco. I was again blown away by how many friends were around to celebrate with us. I kept looking down at my hand, not believing that the ring really was mine to keep. Surely I have to give it back sometime, right? Our family and friends all shared breakfast and then we began to part ways. Jesse turns to me and says, “Well. It’s about time we head back to Tyler. You have a nail appointment in a few hours.” I squealed and jumped up and down, naturally. Then I found out that my whole family was heading to Tyler as well… the celebration continues!!!!

Jesse and I stopped at Common Grounds to say goodbye to Blake and grab a “Ring By Spring” latte before driving home. Confession: Earlier in the week I saw that CG was selling wedding cake flavored lattes and REALLY wanted one that weekend. However, I didn’t want to order a coffee named, “Ring By Spring” in front of Jesse and inadvertently pressure him… so I had given up my hope and desire for a “Ring by Spring.” I made SURE I got one of those lattes before we left town. 

The drive home was a blur. I called a ton of close friends who weren’t able to be there the night before and retold the story over, and over and OVER again. From time to time we took phone breaks and just listened to music and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Three hours flew by and before I knew it we landed back in Tyler at my home on Sarasota. There, I got to squeal, celebrate and share the story with Val, Emily and Lori. Before we headed to the nail salon Jesse mentioned that we’d grab dinner with some family and friends so I should dress up cute and be ready that evening. He’d pick me up in a few hours.

TO THE NAIL SALON!!!!

We took over that place, y’all and it was awesome. My mom and sister met us there with bridal magazines and cupcakes in hand… ready for one of the most fun, girly afternoons I’ve ever had. That really couldn’t have been planned any better. It was really great to be ridiculous and overexcited with a bunch of girls. I mean, Jesse totally appreciates that part of me… but it was great to sit in a massage chair, getting my toes painted, cupcake in one newly-jeweled hand and a magazine full of beautiful gowns in the other and have Val squeal from time to time, “you’re getting MARRRRIIEEEEED!!!!”

yep. girl time. That was so well-planned. Dudes, take note. Give the girl some squeal time.

After the girl-fest I started to CRASH. seriously crash. Two hours of sleep plus intense amounts of adrenaline finally caught up to me. We landed back at home and I tried to nap, to no avail. My ring was distracting.

Jesse came to pick me up around seven and I thought that I’d figured the rest of the evening out. We’d go to Oliveto for dinner with our close Tyler friends and roommates, then end up at Jesse’s house later that night for a dance party with our Pine Cove friends. Please. That was so easy to figure out. “Look at me, I’m Lacey and I’m so smart and SO hard to surprise!”

NOPE. So wrong.

We headed a completely different direction than I thought we’d go, but I didn’t ask questions. By this point I was just happy to go along for the ride. Eventually we ended up on the far south end of Tyler, where there’s not really anything but the church where I work and a vineyard. I thought, “hmm. Maybe we’re going to Kiepersol and eating at the winery there. How fancy!!!” Then we made the u-turn to go to Bethel. The church? Why in the world were we are the church? We pulled into the parking lot and the place was PACKED. I started to realized what was happening, turned to Jesse and started to yell a little bit, “JESSE WHAT IS HAPPENING? WHAT IS GOING ON????” He smiled, grabbed my hand and led me into the Theater at Bethel.

Opening that door was one of the best moments of my entire life and I don’t know if it will ever be beat. I opened the door and there was a room filled with people I love. Really, anyone who could’ve feasibly been there, was. Friends from Pine Cove, friends from Tyler, friends who worked at camp with us, friends who did the Forge with us, friends from Bethel, friends from Grace, friends from college group and my friends from women’s bible study. It was outrageous. A very surreal, “Lacey Melinder: this is your life” type of moment. We walked in, I was too stunned for words and then was handed a microphone. We shared our proposal story with the crowd and then spent the next few hours sharing our excitement with all our friends and showing off my new ring. I still can’t believe how many people were there to share it with us.

My dear friends Darcie and Cay put together tons of treats for everyone to enjoy and made decorations for the party. From wheat centerpieces to a buffet table of my favorite party snacks, those women spared no detail in making the night beautiful. I later found out that while I was getting my nails done, Jesse and a crew of guys (including my dad and brother) were hanging paper airplanes, moving stage decor and working hard to do the heavy lifting that was necessary to transform the space. It didn’t look anything like my children’s ministry room any longer, that’s for sure!

After a few hours of getting time with everyone in the room, the music and lighting started to change. In a matter of minutes the atmosphere seamlessly went from a lovely reception to wicked dance party. Why was I even surprised? Of course Jesse would make sure we’d have a dance party. Is there a better way to celebrate? Thanks to DJ Snoop and some sweet party lights, we had a blast with our friends who are no strangers to kicking it on the dance floor. Having a close community of Pine Cove staff ensures that the party never stops jumping. I can’t wait for the wedding dance party, it’ll be epic.

Eventually, it was about time to wrap things up and get the place ready for church, since it was Saturday night and that room would be filled with the Bethel kiddos in a matter of hours. Before I knew it the stage was transformed back into a desert camel tour set, no traces of party to be found.

Well. Except for the paper airplanes. I’m still finding those all over the place… six months later! No complaints here, those are happy reminders of one of the best weekends I’ll ever have.

Guys in our circles get charged all the time with, “Give her a story. Above all else, give her a story to tell.”
Jesse not only gave me a story, he blessed me.

Without saying a word, Jesse showed that he loved me in the way he carefully planned the weekend. From a beautiful, private proposal, then an intimate party with close friends to an enormous bash with more people than I could’ve ever dreamed, Jesse showed me that he knew me.

To know and to be known, it’s what we’re looking forward to most about marriage.
We’re down to 65 days, folks!