Side note, the photos are from a "re-enactment" at Patti's when my mom and Austin's parents met for the first time.
The date was June 12, 2010. Austin had come from Jackson to Paducah to spend a relaxing weekend with me. I was immersed in the details surrounding Paducah's FSU Chick-fil-A opening about a month later. The last thing I expected was a proposal :-) Because we are nerds, we had talked about watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy straight through, so we decided that that weekend was as good as any. About 7:30 that evening after finishing "The Two Towers", Austin suggested we have a nice dinner somewhere, but he wanted to surprise me. He went back to where he was staying to change and I put on a cute sundress and heels.
About 8:15, while I was re-painting my nails, I heard slight, tapping on my window. I looked outside and Austin was there, throwing little pebbles. So sweet! :-) I went downstairs, said good-bye to my grandparents and headed out the door. Once we passed the exit for downtown Paducah, I knew that the probability for heading to Patti's was a good one. I was proved right when we were crossing the bridge over the Tennessee River and Austin asked me for directions to get there- haha! Being the practical person that I am, I asked if we had reservations, because that is absolutely necessary for Patti's on a Saturday night! Austin looked surprised and said, "I guess I should have thought of that!" I was very annoyed (long waits for eating are a huge pet peeve, not to mention the fact I was starving!) but tried not to let it show. Little did I know that it was all a part of the plan!
A little bit of a back-story is necessary here. Patti's is a wonderful restaurant in Grand Rivers, Kentucky that has delicious food and a great atmosphere. They deck out the restaurant for each season- at Christmas there are lights on everything! My grandparents have enjoyed taking out of town friends and family there over the years. My mom even had her bridesmaid's luncheon there. Each Christmas, the entire family would go, so, needless to say, when Austin and I began dating I knew I wanted him to experience Patti's. It was during March, so there weren't any Christmas lights, but we still had a great time. The weather was gray and cold the evening, so when we walked around the garden area, we went inside the chapel to stay dry and escape the elements. We had our first kiss inside that chapel.
Back to the engagement story...
We arrived at Patti's a short time later. Still annoyed when the hostess asked if we had a reservation, I immediately said, "No!" Austin, being the patient man that he is, said, "Yes, we do. The reservation name is Ward for 8:45." I was immediately relieved, and didn't even suspect anything, still. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and great conversation. When we were finished with our plates, the manager (Elwood) came and cleared them for us. He asked how the meal was and if we would like dessert. Then he added that if we didn't want dessert, how about a tour of Patti's? I laughed, confused, knowing that there are no tours of Patti's. (I thought he was making a joke about walking off our dinner instead of eating dessert, or something like that!) We didn't end up getting dessert, and we got up to leave. As we were walking towards the door, Austin stopped and said he wanted to find Elwood for the tour. I thought he was kidding at first, then when I realized he wasn't, I insisted that Elwood had been joking and that there was no tour! I was getting frustrated!
Suddenly, Elwood appeared and asked if we were ready to go on our tour! I was surprised but went along with it. I still wasn't suspecting anything!
We walked rapidly around the grounds, which are made up of little shops, a putt putt course, several pavilions, gardens, a petting zoo, and finally, the small white chapel. That, of course, was our last stop. When Elwood left, my heart started beating like crazy! At last I was suspecting something. :-)
We got inside the chapel and sat on the same pew that we had before.
We just sat there for a few minutes, then I noticed that Austin's heart was beating really quickly. Being mischievous, I made a comment about it and he replied it was just because we had been walking so fast and he was out of shape- haha! Then, out of nowhere, he said, very determined, "I want to run."
I was totally confused, because neither of us care for running in general, it was about 10:00 at night, and we were in nice clothes. Austin took advantage of my confusion to get the ring out of his pocket and get on one knee in front of me. This time, he finished the sentence by saying, "I want to run the race of life with you! Will you be my wife?"
I, of course, said yes. :-)
I was in shock for a few minutes, but couldn't get the smile off my face! I didn't really take a look at the ring until we were in the car later! It didn't seem real! Once we left the chapel, we began walking back to the car through the gardens, but we stopped beside the pond. We danced while Austin sang our song, "The Way You Look Tonight". It was so romantic!
Of course, the "tour" was all a setup that Austin had arranged with Elwood. They were completely successful in surprising me! Here is a picture of us with Elwood.
The ride back to Paducah and the remainder of the evening (and the early hours of the morning) were spent calling friends and family. My favorite moment was telling my grandparents. They were still awake when we got home. We went back to their room and told them the news. My grandmother squealed, and with tears in her eyes, expressed how happy she was for us. Apparently my granddaddy predicted when I left for dinner that night that I would come home with a ring on my finger- he is a very smart man :-) The thing that meant the most was when my grandmother told me that Austin was like my granddaddy- that he has the same kind, caring spirit. This meant the world to me because I had always wanted to marry a man like my granddaddy!
Here is my ring! It is white gold with three stones: a princess cut diamond in the middle and two round cut ice sapphires on either side. Austin did a wonderful job picking it out! I absolutely love it!
We were so excited and thankful that the Lord brought us together and couldn't wait to be married!
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