John's Proposal

Tonight on Glee, Will Schuester is finally proposing to Emma Pillsbury. I love hearing other couple's proposal stories, so I thought it would be fun to share with all of you how John proposed to me.

In order to tell this story, I have to backtrack to our first date, which was probably one of the best, most romantic nights of my life. We had gone out to dinner in the Riverside area, which (if you're not familiar with the Jacksonville area) is a historic district. There are cute boutiques, one-of-a-kind restaurants, and the best part of all - beautiful homes that date back to the early 1900s. It is me and my husband's dream to one day own a house like that. Anyway, after dinner, we decided to take a stroll through the streets and admire these wonderful homes. We came upon this empty lot right on the river (shown in the picture above), and even though I'm pretty sure it was private property, decided to walk through the grass to get a closer look of the river. It was simply romantic.

Fast forward 16 months later - John and I decide to have dinner in the Riverside area again. I was in the mood for Five Guys, so we ate there. Afterwards, John got his usual strawberry smoothie at the Smoothie King across the street. As he was sipping his smoothie, we decided to go for a stroll through the streets again. So far, nothing was out of the ordinary. Well, we finally came upon that same empty lot. It was evening time, so the streets were already dark except for the lights cast from the street lamps and lit houses. We gazed at the empty lot, reminiscing about our first date. And before I knew it, John got down on one knee and proposed. The moment was perfect. There were no interruptions - no dogs barking in the distance, no cars rolling past, not even another pedestrian in the street. I know many people like the big showy proposals, but John knows that I'm very private and that I'd want an intimate, romantic proposal with just the two of us. It was absolutely perfect. And of course, I said yes :)

I love how we had a completely casual evening with nothing too fussy or over-the-top (I mean, dinner at Five Guys is not exactly what I'd call romantic). But it was perfect because it threw me off and I wasn't expecting anything at all - I like surprises :)

A few months after that, we decided to take our engagement photos there. This was so special for us because it's something we can share with our children and hopefully grandchildren one day - to be able to point out to them and say, "Yep, that's where your dad/granddad proposed."

This small driveway is the very spot that John got down on one knee and proposed.

What We're Wearing:

On me:

• Top by Midi
• Jeans by Lucky Brand
• Belt by Banana Republic
• Three's Company Wedges by BC Footwear

On John:

• Shirt and shoes by Original Penguin
• Jeans by Diesel

It is our ultimate dream to one day own this plot of land and build a house here. We looked up the price and I believe it's valued at a little over a million dollars (it is a waterfront property after all). This is beyond what we'd ever be able to afford, but it's still fun to dream about. At least in the meantime, we can still visit this spot and reminisce.