We’re Engaged!

Hello friends! I’ve been waiting for some pictures to come in before I shared the whole story with you, but as you probably already know Ethan and I are engaged! I’m also sharing some of the engagement pictures we had taken on our trip! Let’s go back to November 6th for the whole story…

So it was the first day of our trip, and we were at Magic Kingdom! Some things were going on in the background that I didn’t know about until after, so I’ll share that at the end :). I knew I wanted to see the new “Once Upon A Time” show at 10:45, and I was ready to stay late. We were up around 5am that morning, so after Wishes at 10pm, everyone else headed back to the resort. After Wishes we decided to walk around the hub area to stretch our legs until just before Once Upon a Time started. After we watched that, then walked around a bit more. Ethan asked if I wanted to get a picture in front of the castle, because it was our first night seeing the Christmas Lights on it, and of course I said yes. So we hung out a bit waiting for the park to empty and for the lines for PhotoPass+ photographers to get low. Ethan mentioned that I should take my jacket off (which was ugly and I’m glad I did), but it made me a little suspicious! So after a while we got in line, and then it was our turn to take our picture.

If you’ve ever taken a picture with a PhotoPass photographer, you know they let you put your things near their tripod so your bags aren’t in the picture. So we both went and put our stuff down and the photographer mentioned she was just adjusting her settings and took the camera off the tripod. She had us take a picture with our arms around each other… and I could feel Ethan shaking. So we took the picture and the photographer asked if there was anything else we wanted. Before I knew it Ethan was down on one knee, and he said “Kelsey, I love you, and want to spend the rest of my life with you, will you marry me?” and of course I said “Yes!”

The moment passed so quickly and it honestly feels like it happened to someone else, but I’m so happy I have pictures of it! As soon as we walked away, I wanted to know everything! It turns out he purchased the ring in MAY, and his parents were hiding the ring! He kicked me out of their room when we changed into Florida clothes and put the ring in his pocket! How sneaky! He also surprised me with one more thing, a photo session Tuesday morning at the Polynesian! We finally got the pictures back so I’m sharing some of my favourites below 🙂

Tuesday was supposed to be our sleep in morning, and it still was for everyone else but not us! I actually got very little sleep on our trip, something about being in Disney makes me wake up before my alarm! The day was had our pictures taken we were up at 6:15 for our 7:30 appointment (that lasted an hour) and we went to bed after midnight, from being at the Christmas party pretty much ’til the end! But I wouldn’t have it any other way!

I asked Ethan if he wouldn’t mind sharing what it was like for him, so I’ll pass things over to him!

Ethan’s Perspective (and advice)

I bought the ring long before the trip and debated proposing prior to the trip, however because it was Disney and both our families were going to be there it just seemed like the right time to do it. I did a lot of research on my phone during my breaks at work to try and find a way to do it. There are tons of ideas for Disney World proposals online varying from complex to more basic ideas. There are many options that Disney offers to make the event special, however most come with a Disney price tag. I looked for a while and found different ideas that I thought would be cool, but in the end I decided that keeping it simple was going to be my best bet, especially since we were travelling with a larger group and not just the two of us.

In the end I decided what I really wanted was to get it on camera, which I could do with Disney PhotoPass. I knew I wanted to propose early in the trip so I did not have to worry about the ring and could celebrate after the fact. The first day we were going to the Magic Kingdom so it seemed like a good time, I thought proposing in front of the castle would be a nice photo, especially since it would have the Christmas lights. I suggest having an idea that can be adapted as you go, because you can never guarentee how a day at Disney will go.

I originally planned to propose following dinner, but when you are trying to surprise someone that plans as much as Kelsey it can be hard, as plans were quickly made to go to Pirates of the Caribbean after dinner.  So, I then decided I would switch and propose after Wishes, so following the fireworks I asked Kelsey to go for a walk around the hub. Everyone else had gone back to the resort for the night so it was just the two of us. The “walk” I sugessted was actually me looking for a PhotoPass photographer. I walked towards the area that I had planned on and which previously had a PhotoPass location (the rose garden, because we had gotten a picture there in 2012), however it is no longer there after the renovations to the hub. This caused a bit of panic, however I thought I’ll just have to find another spot with a photographer. As we walked I couldn’t find any PhotoPass photographers. The panic started to set in even more. I didn’t know what to do, should I wait for another day?

The problem was I had the Portrait session booked for Tuesday morning, and we were not going to be back at Magic Kingdom before that. We stopped to watch the new projection show on the Castle and I saw some PhotoPass photographers on the outside of the hub, waiting to set up their cameras after the show. I initially saw one that was waiting to set up on the right side of the hub. I was hoping not to have to propose in the middle of the hub because it’s so busy.

After waiting a while the photographer never set-up. So I had to make a choice, propose in the middle of the hub in front of a lot of people or wait for another day. In the end I decided to go for it, after waiting for the initial crow to disperse following the light show I suggested we get in line for a photo in front of the castle. When we got to the front and it was our turn I let Kelsey go ahead and whispered to the photographer that I was going to propose. She was great as she said okay and then made an excuse to take the camera of the tripod. She took a few photos and then asked if there was anything else, which I assumed was my queue. I was very nervous at this point, I got down on one knee and asked Kelsey to marry me, at least in my head, I doubt my speech was very clear. Anyways when it was all said and done I am happy with how it turned out.

Back to Kelsey

I have to admit that I had a feeling we might get engaged at some point during the trip, but I had no idea when or where, and I didn’t want to think about it! I couldn’t think of another place that had meaning for us where he might pop the question, and we’ve been together for over 5 years so the timing felt right! I’m really happy Ethan picked the first night, so we could spend the rest of the trip relaxing and celebrating. I’m really happy that one day when we bring our kids to WDW we can show the exact spot where Ethan got on one knee! I also wanted the ring to be a surprise, so I went out with my Mom in April to see styles that I liked, and my favourite was the one Ethan picked! I love it! 🙂

It’s been a bit of a whirlwind for the past month, but we are enjoying our time being engaged and slowly starting to plan our wedding! I will definitely share some details with you! We are looking at getting married sometime in 2018, so there’s still lots of time for me to share. 🙂

I’m currently obsessed with wedding blogs, so if you know of any please comment down below!

Thank you so much for reading our story, it means a lot to both of us!