Three years, six months, and eighteen days later...

I'M ENGAGED!

Jacob and I have been dating for quite some time now, and on Friday, June 3, 2011, the love of my life asked me to marry him!!! Luckily, my parents were there to capture the incredible moments of the proposal on film. Let me just say, I have the most indescribably amazing fiancé and an indescribably amazing engagement story to go along with it. Now for the part you've all been anxiously waiting to hear...

On Friday morning, I took my Fashion Marketing final and then met up with my parents and Janet and Gloria to grab lunch and go to Piazza Michelangelo. When we got to lunch, my mom told me that she had made us an appointment to get our nails done and we could go to the piazza after that. After the nails, we all got gelato at one of my favorite shops and then walked up the monstrous hill to get to the top of the piazza. The walk to the top is pretty brutal, but the piazza is one of my favorite spots in all of Florence. It overlooks all of the city and is so high up, you can even see past the center to the rolling Tuscan hills all around. Once we got to the top, we took pictures and admired the view for a few minutes before walking over to a more secluded area.

When we had gotten away from some of the crowds, Janet gave me a letter from Jacob and told me that he wanted me to be looking out over the city when I read it. At the end of the sweet letter were the words "turn around". I turned around, and there he was. In Italy. Where he flew from THAILAND to surprise me. On the top of a mountain overlooking the entire city. Wearing a plaid shirt and a five o'clock shadow (two of the most attractive things to me!!!). Needless to say, it was all too perfect and romantic for me to keep from crying!

Not only did I not know Jacob was in Italy, I thought he was still in Thailand! It was literally the perfect moment to surprise me... The thought that he might be there had never even crossed my mind!

We hugged and kissed and then Jacob mentioned that we should go to a more private area and get some pictures of just the two of us. I may have looked like a mess that day, but it WAS the perfect moment to capture some great pictures!

We spent a minute or two taking pictures, and after taking some of us from behind, overlooking the city, I turned around to find him getting down on one knee!

I was so excited, he didn't even get a chance to ask me before I said yes! :)

We kissed.

We hugged.

I cried.

I squealed.

And my mom, Janet, and Gloria caught the whole thing on camera!

The engagement was perfect and the ring is GORGEOUS!

So gorgeous, in fact, that the girl sitting next to me in the lab as I type this just asked me if it was real! I told her yes and that I just got engaged and she said it was the prettiest ring she had ever seen! :)

The couple who took this picture was actually a couple from Birmingham on a trip to Italy for their 5th anniversary!

In my wildest dreams, I never imagined such a romantic, amazing, magical proposal. It was truly a fairy tale moment and I still get chill bumps just thinking about it. I have dreamt about this day and my future husband since I was a little girl and I can say with full confidence that every moment we have spent together has far surpassed the things I imagined. God has blessed me so, so richly in more ways than I could ever try to explain. Jacob's passion for life and people, his drive and conviction, his charming ways and good looks... Seriously, I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with him!

Thank you to my family, Janet, and Gloria for helping him make the day so special for me. I am so thankful that you were there to share the moment! Also, thank you to everyone for all of the warm wishes and congratulations on facebook. Your comments are so sweet!

Looking forward to seeing y'all and celebrating in person in a few weeks!

Love you!