Today is our one-month engage-i-versary! So, I figured it was time for the proposal story. A lot of people have asked me if I expected it to happen in Europe, and the answer is "not really." Way back when we started planning our trip, I did think it was going to happen sometime in Europe. It kind of seemed perfect, so it made sense. Well, Ryan did give me some hints about when it was going to happen, and there was one hint in particular that didn't seem to fit in with the whole proposal in Europe idea. And as our trip rapidly approached, it seemed unlikely (to me) that he had been able to buy the ring. I figured I'd be able to tell when he actually got it.
So, by the time we actually left, I'd say I was about 50/50 on whether or not it would happen on the trip. I wasn't really stressing out about it or thinking about it too much, because I wanted to have a great time regardless! When we actually got to our hotel and had our first night out, I was thinking the possibility that it was going to happen was actually quite a bit lower. I was pretty sure he wouldn't propose without a ring, and well, it just didn't seem safe to leave such a thing in the hotel room (I wouldn't do it in the US....and I definitely wouldn't do it in Europe!).
By the second day, I had actually forgotten about it because I was enjoying Venice so much! It literally was not on my mind at all, seriously. Even though we got all dressed up the second night to go to a beautiful rooftop bar and on a gondola ride (neither of which happened that night, by the way), I was just excited to eat, drink, and take in Venice.
If I wasn't thinking about the potential proposal the second night, I was definitely not thinking about it our last night in Venice. Everything we did was super normal, and I really had no reason to suspect a proposal. I mean, we were taking our time getting ready and enjoying our bellinis (pre-mixed in a bottle).
And Ryan really didn't seem nervous at all. I figured if anything would give it away, it would be him acting strange. Oh, and we weren't all dressed up or anything (not that this is a requirement, but I would have been a little more suspicious). Although, he did wear his coat, but I insisted that he did because I love it when he wears it with jeans! I think it's super cute, so I didn't think anything of it.
Anyway, we rescheduled our gondola ride for the third night, around sunset. We chose to do the 40-minute gondola ride, which took us down the Grand Canal a bit, and then through some of the smaller canals (including the one right by our hotel!). It was super romantic and very relaxing. Venice looked so beautiful from the gondola. I wish we could've spent more time floating down the canals of Venice.
Here we are on the gondola, right before our 40-minute ride
We ended our ride right by the Scalzi bridge, which was very close to the cute restaurants on the Grand Canal. We headed over to the bridge, and stopped at the top to enjoy the view. At this point I really suspected nothing. He made some comment about the view, and then...(to be continued)
