Photography by Erin Trimble Photography

The last five days have been such a whirlwind! First off, J and I are so grateful for your love and support during this very special time.  I can’t believe today is the day that we share our engagement story with y’all! We’ve never been so nervous, excited, and thrilled all at the same time.  It was truly one of the best days of our lives, but we know that the best is yet to come.

Now, without further ado…it begins…

About five weeks ago, J told me to get dressed up because we were going to dinner.

What’s the catch, right? Why five weeks ago?

Well, instead of taking me directly to dinner, to my surprise, we made a pit stop…at a jeweler.  Jordan had a setting picked out and several center stone diamonds overnighted for us to look at.  I was too stunned to even do anything — it was quite possibly the most romantic gesture ever.  I looked at a few different rings {bawling my eyes out when I tried on the first one}, but none of them compared to the one he had already picked out.

This may be taboo for some people. I understand that not *everyone* wants to know an engagement is coming, but I appreciate him taking my ring preference into consideration when needless to say, he didn’t even need it.  Plus, the excitement was totally worth it.

Fast forward five weeks.

Past our amazing October.  Past the fall itinerary.  Past him asking my parents {and my brother & sister} for their blessing.  Past him choosing a diamond.  Past him concocting a plan with Erin throughout the five weeks.

aaaaand BAM. Here we are.  I was aware that it was coming, but I honestly had no clue when.  Would it be around Thanksgiving? Christmas? The New Year? January?

We’ve had a few photoshoots scheduled with Erin Trimble, but they were all getting rained out due to the funky weather.  She wanted to get a holiday photoshoot on the calendar, since she books up pretty quickly.  Weeks in advance, we decided on a Saturday evening photoshoot at Black Acre {my favorite place to photograph}.

As time started to creep up, we realized it was the one year anniversary of when we met {an extremely special day for the both of us}. He planned morning massages for us and dinner reservations post-shoot.  I offered to cancel the photoshoot, but he insisted that it only takes us a hot second to get a few outfits done and to not worry about it.  He’s always such a good sport.

So, above, are the photos of us doing our thaaang.  Casually in a huge field in this aggressive {yet beautiful} sequin dress and these rockstud pumps. I didn’t want to ruin my heels, so I made J pick me up and carry me across this field.  Trust me, he works out.  He squats quadruple my weight.  He typically lifts me as though I’m light as a feather.  30 yards in, he’s profusely sweating and practically drops me.  I was slightly confused {and offended}, but brushed it off.  My booty must have been weighing him down.

I *clearly* have no idea of what’s to come.  I didn’t even realize that this photoshoot and date were actually planned by him and Erin to begin with.  I was unaware that he was so nervous, especially with the ring in his pocket, that the last thing he wanted to do was carry me across a field.

When we finished with everything, Jordan turns to me.  He gets really serious and tells me he loves me. His voice cracked and he seemed uncharacteristically nervous. {He denies this, of course.}

I nonchalantly reply “psh, I love you too!”

And then he repeats himself, “Grace, I love you.  And I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

I look at Erin and literally say “What’s happening?”

J gives me the sweetest spiel {which is a little too intimate for me to share}, and then ends it with a request — will I be Mrs. Grace Noel White?

I honestly kind of blacked out for a little bit.  I was shaking — I couldn’t believe that the day I had been dreaming about since I was a little girl was here.  I had prayed to God for a selfless, compassionate, and caring man that I could spend the rest of my life with and create a family with.  The day I met Jordan, I knew he was the one I had been praying for.

He got down on one knee — a moment I will never forget — and asked to spend forever with me.  For me to be his partner in crime, to be the mother of his future children, to be his lobster.  He made me promises that shook me to my core.  I had never felt so loved and cared for.

So, OBVIOUSLY, I said hell yes.  Well, to be honest, I kissed him and then told him “I’d be honored”.  {‘Honored’, Grace? Really? You couldn’t just say ‘yes’?}

Gosh, didn’t he do well!? The ring is absolutely stunning and more importantly, I love having a reminder on my hand of our devotion to each other.

After it finally sunk in…we both got giddy.

*shook*

*always making me laugh, even during the most important of moments*

*another wave of tears came for me*

*cue Kim Kardashian ugly cry*

I will never forget this moment.  After it all, we held each other in an extremely long embrace — it felt as though the world had stopped.

In J’s own words, “when you have the best, you lock it down.” {He’s so sweet.}

Photography by Erin Trimble Photography

Afterwards, J had planned quite the night for us.  We got into the car and FaceTimed our family and friends.  Marilyn, Alex, and Autumn were already planning my bachelorette trip during the calls haha.

We drove to our first pitstop — but before walking in, he handed me a letter to read.  A letter that I will cherish forever…and a letter that brought way too many tears to both of our eyes than we’d like to admit.  We arrived at Side Bar to grab a drink, sitting at the same table {and ordering the same cocktails} as we did on our first date. The manager congratulated us as it was clear that J and I were on cloud nine.

Following our drink, we went to Seviche, my fave restaurant in Louisville, to celebrate our engagement at a personal candlelit dinner. {J’s dinner plans weren’t so bad after all…}

Right when I thought the night was over, he drove me to one last surprise.  He walked me into Saints, the bar where we first met.  He guided me to the spot where we shook hands and introduced ourselves, and in that spot, was my family and our close friends, all there to congratulate us and celebrate.  It was such a meaningful evening, and we of course, took a tequila shot as our night cap {we took a tequila shot the first night we met}.

It’s crazy what can happen in a year.  I met the love of my life and the rest is history.

I was having a hard time ending this post, because frankly, I think I could talk about that evening forever. Then I realized that this post doesn’t have an ending, but instead, a beginning. Thank you so much for all of the love, excitement, and gratitude.We look forward to sharing our journey with y’all!

…Now, let’s plan a wedding!