counting down the days...

until I officially become Mrs. Derek Ziese !

We’re engaged!!

THE ring!!! An endless circle of diamonds

Derek completely surprised me a few weeks ago and we are both so happy and excited! I thought for sure his proposal wasn’t coming for another few weeks, so when I turned the corner in our apartment, I was truly, completely, absolutely surprised to see him on one knee! 

He was smiling from ear to ear, ring in hand, and I’m sure he said some very sweet words but I don’t think I was listening to them very well. All I can remember were the four words that I had dreamed of hearing for so long... “Will you marry me?”

It was perfect and private and I will never ever forget that moment. Of course I said YES and we have been celebrating ever since!

After his proposal, Derek took me to romantic dinner in the city and afterwards surprised me with a sunset boat ride around the harbor.

The next weekend, we surprised our parents with the news! Of course, Derek had already spoken to my dad, so although they knew that Derek would be proposing soon, they didn't know exactly when. It was so fun to see the smiles on their faces when we told them!

Both of our families got together on Saturday night and gathered around Derek's parents' fire pit. We were so happy to be able to have them all in one place to celebrate.

I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! I get to marry the best person I know and celebrate all the years and all the love that brought us to this point.