Long Island Engagement Announcements

A fairy-tale proposal from my romantic prince!! After three and a half years of dating, I honestly had NO idea anything was happening the day he proposed - just thought that I would be spending the weekend before Christmas baking gifts for my friends and family like I always do. After saying all week that I was so happy to have the entire weekend to bake, on Friday night, Steve finally told me that I might have to postpone my baking because he was taking me away for the weekend, we were staying overnight, and I'd have to bring a nice change of clothes. This was also two days before my birthday, so I was pleasantly surprised at this last-minute change of plans for the weekend! He wouldn't tell me where we were going either, so it wasn't until the next day on the way there that I finally figured out he was taking me to Oheka Castle! I was STUNNED - because we were there for my birthday last year too, and I wasn't expecting to do something that extravagant again the following year! I was delighted, because we really had such a great time there last time, and I truly love this place! I still had no idea whatsoever that anything else would happen - I was just so delighted to be back at this beautiful castle! We got checked in and made our way up to our room. It was GORGEOUS! He told me he pulled some strings to get us an upgrade because he wanted to give me a special birthday present this year - and I was just blown away by the beauty of this suite! We get settled, and then Steve suggests that we take a walk around the garden before the sun goes down and it gets too cold. Again, I have no clue or suspicions about anything - just happily followed my love as we made our way down to the beautiful grounds for a walk. As we walked outside, we noticed that one of the women who worked there followed us out too and walked into the garden. Steve mentioned something about her probably doing some maintenance outside, and again I still think nothing of it - I'm so moved by the beauty of this castle and being here with my man that I am just enjoying the moment :) We stayed on the steps before the garden for a few moments, just talking about how lovely this place was and how happy I was to be back here again. Then we started making our way into the garden. The air was crisp and chill, and the gravel crunched under our feet as we strolled through the first half of the garden. As we get to the fountain in the middle, I suddenly hear music start to play! It was 'You & Me' by Dave Matthews Band, one of my favorite songs in the world because every time I hear it, I think of the love I have for Steve, and how we can do anything as long as we have each other. I tell him this every time I hear the song too, so he knows how special it is to me :) I hear this song start to play now as we are standing in the middle of this garden, and that's when my heart started beating triple time, and it finally hit me as I thought, 'Oh my God - something is happening ... this is it, this is it!' My hands are shaking, my jaw has just dropped to the ground, and that's when Steve took my hand and said, 'This song is a symbol of what's about to happen now', and he led me to the gazebo. He turned me around so I was facing the castle, and asked me to take my gloves off - and now there is no doubt of what is about to happen, and I am completely overwhelmed with emotion. As tears of sheer joy ran down my face, I watched as the man I loved with all of my soul got down on one knee, took out a ring, and said to me, 'Helena Noelle, will you be my wife?' I said YES!! :) He told me the ring was a custom creation of his mother's engagement ring and wedding band, and he had it recreated into a new setting to make my ring :) Elation isn't enough of a word to describe the amount of love in my heart at this very moment! I couldn't stop gazing at this gorgeous ring, and I marveled at all of the love and history that it represented. The woman who came out earlier (she was the one who turned the music on) now reappeared with two glasses of champagne for us, and Steve and I toasted to our new engagement! With our favorite song playing, and a beautiful castle in the background, we began the newest part of our life together, and I felt like a princess in a storybook! We made our way back to our room to make all of the happy phone calls, and soon after, a plate of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries were sent up to us too! Later that night, Steve arranged for us to have a private dinner with a single table set up in the parlor room next to the library. It was a magical and beautiful way to celebrate our engagement! We received complimentary champagne and wine as a celebration, and we spent the remainder of the evening after dinner in the library, where we took our first picture together as an engaged couple in front of a beautiful Christmas tree. Everyone at Oheka was just so wonderful to us on this day – I can’t say enough nice things about the amount of detail and attention they provided to Steve as he meticulously planned the perfect engagement! The next day, I thought we were going to brunch with a friend who wanted to treat us, and it turned out that Steve wasn't finished surprising me just quite yet, because when we showed up to the restaurant, I was completely shocked to see my ENTIRE family there along with his mother, and a few of our friends! What a beautiful way to share this happy news with my whole family right away!! He knows how much family means to me, so I couldn’t think of a better way to share the news of our engagement in person! One day later it was my birthday, and a day after that it was Christmas – a day spent with our families celebrating the holiday and happily talking about all of the fun wedding plans to come! I feel like I got the most amazing gift ever this year! I am so blessed to have this man in my life, and my heart gets happier every day just thinking about the future we have ahead of us as husband and wife!