Kate’s Dad almost blew the entire surprise proposal, but Holly still says that the proposal just before dinner was 100% a surprise.
Who are Holly & Kate?
The things we love the most in life are traveling and exploring new areas, anything that involves Mexican food, and entertaining at our new home. Fun fact: we work for the same company! Kate is in management, and Holly is in sales for a software company.
We met at work even though we lived on opposite ends of the United States: Kate in New England and Holly in Los Angeles. We got to travel together and became fast friends. All the while, we knew we wanted to be together. It has been an incredible journey of six years so far!
How was the proposal planned?
We were always on the same page about getting married. It was just a matter of Kate getting all the pieces planned without Holly having any insider information. Since Holly is known to creep around, Kate knew that Holly had to be traveling to pick out Holly’s special ring. While Holly was traveling to visit her family for Christmas in December of 2018, Kate was able to pick out Holly’s ring.
In January, Kate wanted to propose to Holly before their yearly Company Meeting to coincide with a visit to Holly’s parents afterward. Family is important to both of us, so celebrating with both families was very special.
Living together while trying to keep the upcoming proposal a secret came with a few close calls. First was a piece of mail that Holly found that was related to the ring. Luckily, Kate was able to pass it off as something else.
But the best moment was when Kate’s dad almost blew the whole surprise! We were house hunting and brought along Kate’s dad for an opinion. Kate (being the master of amazing surprises) had planned an intimate celebratory family dinner at one of our favorite spots for the night after the proposal. As Kate and Holly were saying goodbye, Kate’s dad replied, “see you tomorrow.” Kate gave him the look of death, but luckily the stress of house hunting kept Holly from really questioning the moment. Such a classic!
Tell us about the proposal!
It was perfect. It was a Saturday night in January. There is a small coastal town in Maine we love to go to off-season since it is less crowded and mostly locals. Holly loves live music, and this amazing restaurant’s food and an even more fantastic piano bar upstairs.
The plan was to head up there for dinner, but because we arrived “early,” Kate made a point to show Holly a place we had wanted to check out for a long time. A picture-perfect walking trail perched on the Maine coast overlooking the ocean with breathtaking New England sea town views. There is a fantastic walking path you can access easily and go for walks, take amazing photos. And, for us, find a perfect bench to sit down and have the best moment of our lives! As we walked to a bench at a beautiful lookout, Kate pulled out the ring from her pocket, and Holly couldn’t believe it. She swears she was 100 percent surprised, and it was the easiest yes of her life.
Holly’s ring was picked out at a local and trusted jeweler. Kate planned the trip to the jewelry store while Holly was away in California. Kate’s mom joined for the trip to help offer insight on the shiny new bling. Kate’s ultimate goal in selecting the perfect ring included one that Holly would cherish as well as turn the heads of others.
Holly’s ring is a classic and timeless round diamond in a halo setting. After the proposal, we designed a custom ring for Kate that is infinity style with a mixture of large diamond baguettes.
What does your engagement mean to you both? Has anything changed?
Engagement to us does mean a lot. While our day to day life is the same, we had talked about getting married for some time, and we feel it has cemented us even further. We have had nothing but love and support from all our family and friends. But getting engaged made us excited all over again to celebrate that love with our loved ones. Putting rings on and planning a wedding was something we both wanted and have enjoyed experiencing together.
Photography by Todd Danforth Photography
