The Ring

Mr. Newport and I had talked about marriage numerous times before he proposed. He had given me a promise ring during our first year of dating, during college. We both knew we would get married, but wanted to finish college and start our careers before getting married.

Mr. Newport wanted to pick the ring out on his own. He tends to pick things out I would never buy for myself and end up loving. Most of the time, I actually like his taste in clothes and jewlery for me better than my own....99% of the time. My favorite coat and earrings were Christmas gifts from him, my favorite dress was a birthday gift. So when it came time to choose a ring, I knew he'd find something gorgeous.

That's not to say, I never showed him any rings I liked. If I had a magazine in front of me, I'd show him something I liked. I tended to show him halo rings. I noticed a pattern after while, and so I was surprised when he proposed with something completely different from anything I had shown him.

FMIL and FFIL Newport gave Mr. Newport the ring his father proposed to his mother with over thirty years ago. Mr. Newport was extremely grateful, but wanted to pick out something, so he decided he would use the center stone and choose a different setting.

The center stone is the original diamond, which is a circle solitare, with 4 smaller diamonds on either side, with an engraved design on either side of the band and tiny diamonds underneath each side of the main stone. It has a vitnage look. I hadn't looked at anything like it, but when he proposed with it, I knew it was my perfect ring.

And you can tell how much I love it, by our little photo shoot that weekend....
Did you have any say in the style of your engagement ring?

Proposal Adventures

After Mr. Newport proposed, the real fun began- the pictures!

I happen to love pictures. I take way too many photos, I'm known for my quick facebook photo updates- as in they are up the next morning- before you are. I scrapbook. I stalk photo blogs. I'm pretty obsessed. I thinks it's my obsession with capturing a memory of a second of time that you can never get back. With a photo you get to hold on to that moment forever. Some people are content with their memory, I on the other hand am much more visual.

Surprisingly, after our proposal Mr. Newport was the one to initiate "the photo shoot". I was so caught up in my happiness that I didn't really think to take pictures- so not like me, I never forget to take pictures.

After some time basking in our newly fiancee'd status, the camera started clicking.

First came some photos of the ring..
Then some photos of us.....
Then a facebook special, in which Mr. Newport tagged all of our coupled friends (O yes he did!)...
After the photo fun, came the mandatory calls. We actually didn't do too many right away, just our parents and siblings. My family saw it coming, but his were a little surprised. Which shocked me because the diamond he proposed with was the same diamond his father proposed to his mother with 3o years ago! He said they gave him the diamond, and he just never told them when he was officially doing it. So needless to say, my future mother in-law had the best reaction---she was speechless. I would be too! I would have assumed he'd tell her, but he said he only told my father prior to doing so to ask for his permission.
After the calls to family, we headed to our alma mater, Salve Regina University, to reminisce. We walked through campus stopping at all the places that hold special meaning to us, including Hunt Hall, which was our freshman dorm where we met.
Later in the evening, we had celebratory drinks on the deck at Bannister's Wharf and made the rest of the calls. The woman at Bannister's saw us sitting on the deck and told us we were about to miss a beautiful sunset and recommended we move to the deck on the other side. Gladly we did. We saw the most beautiful sunset while calling all our closest family and friends to tell them the happy news.
After the beautiful sunset and making quite a few calls, we headed to dinner at our favorite Newport restarunt, Sardella's (favorite because in college you can't beat the 2 dinners for $12.00, $20.00 if you include a bottle of wine special every Mon-Wed in the winter, we went at least once a week and it is absolutely delicious!). It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

Then....the next day was more Newport fun and of course, photo taking. We headed to an apple orchard in nearby Middletown, went for a ride on Ocean Drive and spent a little more time on the beach and at Salve. Perfect Fall activities.

At the end of day two of our proposal adventure, we headed back home and were greeted by decorations, friends and family. Absolutely perfect.

Was your proposal more than a one day affair? How did you celebrate?

The Proposal

It's been exactly one year since Mr. Newport asked me to marry him, and about a year to go until we say "I do"! This past year flew by and I know the time is just going to seem to go even faster until the actual wedding. Some people were amazed at the length of our engagement, just about two years, but I'm really enjoying this time together.

So how did he propose? Well....

Mr. Newport proposed almost exactly five years from the day we met. To be honest, neither of us remember the date we met, but it was in October of 2003 at Salve Regina in Newport, RI. (I'll get to that story later) Five years after our first introduction, Mr. Newport took me back to the very place we met.

He planned the whole thing out perfectly. When we arrived in Newport, the weather was perfect. It was a beautiful fall day. It's my favorite time of year and my favorite kind of weather.

I kept thinking it was the perfect time to propose. Newport is my favorite place, it was five years from the date we met (seems like a good time to propose to me), it was my favorite season, and I had been bugging Mr. Newport for awhile. I told my mom, my sister and a few of my closest friends that I thought he was going to propose. It just seemed so perfect. I had thought quite a few times ( a couple different trips to Disney, other trips to Newport, a trip to NH on our four year anniversary, Christmas, etc. etc.) before that he was going to propose, so telling my friends and family I thought this wasn't anything new. Even though I told them, part of me still wasn't sure because I had felt so sure the other times, too.

The one thing that made me a little more sure this time was the fact that Mr. Newport told me his parent's were giving him the diamond his father proposed to his mother with. Up until a couple weeks before the trip, I thought there was no way he would propose because he and his parents hadn't seen each other in months and there was no way to get the diamond. Then I saw a message on his cousin's myspace page about going to Jersey. That's when I became about 75% sure it would happen. His cousin lives in MA, so do we. She was taking a trip with her family that Mr. Newport never mentioned, he usually tells me when his aunt and cousins visit in Jersey. I thought they must be getting the diamond. Then, Mr. Newport never went to visit them, or so I thought. I went back and forth on whether it would happen. I searched for more clues. I know, I'm terrible. I hate surprises. I find more joy in figuring things out before they happen than actually getting surprised. Poor Mr. Newport, he tried really hard!

Then no clues came, Mr. Newport was being really sneaky. I didn't want to get my hopes up since I had so many times before. Then a couple days before our trip, Sister Newport kept insisting that she and FBILN meet up with us for dinner the first night we go down. That's when I started asking her for clues, but I got nothing other than the fact that she said she wanted to be there if he did propose. Which led me to believe that it was going to happen. At this point I became 85% it was going to happen.

Then came the morning we were to leave for Newport. I knew we were going to have a picnic on the beach. I figured I'd wear something comfy, since it tends to be windy and a little cool in October on the water. I asked Mr. Newport if sweatpants were ok, he said I should wear something a little nicer. Note: Mr. Newport fell in love with the girl in sweatpants and tells me I look beautiful in them all the time, so I was surprised. Then I saw what he was wearing- a nice button down shirt and jeans- a little fancy for a picnic on the beach. At this point, I was 90% sure it was going to happen that day.

So after a long drive with much anticipation, we arrived in Newport. We stopped at our hotel to check in, then headed off to grab some sandwiches from our favorite cafe for our picnic. We got our usual of two griddled English cheddar sandwiches. We drove to the next town over to our favorite picnic spot.

As we got out of the car, Mr. Newport told me he had to get something and to go ahead. I was 95% sure at this point that he was getting the ring and about to propose. Yet, I still tried to block it out of my mind, as I had been so sure many times before.

We walked down to the beach, which was nearly secluded (one other person on the far end) and Mr. Newport laid out a blanket. We ate our sandwiches and reminisced about some of our favorite times in Newport. After our lunch was finished we were rambling on about our childish fight that we've had for 5 years- who love's who more (yes we are that couple, and yes we say it everytime we hang up the phone....I love you more...no I love you more...click)), Mr. Newport at this point said I love you more and I'll prove it.

Mr. Newport knelt down on two knees....at this point I was 100% sure it was about to happen. At this point the story gets fuzzy. I know he gave a little speech and I remember it being sweet and being utterly happy. Yet, I have no recollection of any of his words other than his first of proving he loves me more...and his last..."Will you marry me?"

At which point, I told him your only supposed to get down on one knee. Blah, yeah I said it. And yeah, my family made fun of me. Then we laughed. He got down on one knee, and.......the phone rang.

One of my bridesmaids called at 10:00 on a Wednesday morning. She just had to ask me something, aka she wanted to know if he had done it already.

We ignored the call and I said yes.

We spent awhile on the beach savoring the moment. It sounds cheesy, but it really was the most amazing day of my life so far.

Even though I was X% sure it was going to happen leading up to the proposal, I wouldn't have had it any other way. I had originally wanted him to do it sooner, or in other places, but if he had I wouldn't have gotten my dream proposal, the dream proposal I hadn't known I wanted all along. So many times I told him I don't care how it's done, I just want to be your wife. But, once I had the amazing proposal in a place that meant so much, I am happy he waited and did it perfectly. The poor guy just had to deal with a lot of nagging and disappointment along the way.

Did you know when your fiance was going to propose? Did you have to go through some disappointments before getting your dream proposal?

Love is Life

The Cliffwalk is a Newport toursit must see, which also happens to go along Salve's campus. Mr. Newport and I spent many walks on the cliffwalk, so it was a must on our list for engagement pictures. The views are just unbelievably gorgeous. It was kind of funny to be walking the cliffwalk while having our photo taken. It kind of felt like paparazzi. I actually didn't even notice him most of the time, it wasn't until we were on the cliffwalk and other people were walking by that it felt a little funny, but then after a minute, you just get used to it. Although Dave made us feel super comfortable, I'm glad I don't really have photograpers following me around all the time!
If you look closely at the photo below, above the bridge, it says "Love is Life", this is probably my favorte part on the cliffwalk, I first noticed the quote on a walk during my freshman year.Dave found this tree between the cliffwalk and Salve and decided to take a few shots, little did I realize ants were all over the tree. Mr. Newport did notice, but thought I'd freak out and we wouldn't get a good shot, so he decided to wait and tell me this after the shoot.....
Here we are leaning up against the ant tree.....Thanks Mr. Newport ;)
Did you feel like you had paparazzi following you during your engagement shoot? Did you like it, or was it a little weird?

All photos credited to: David Bibeault

Willl you.......swing me around?

When Mr. Newport proposed, pretty soon after he just picked me up and started swinging me around on third beach (The Beach in Middletown , RI, where we had our proposal picnic). He's done it many times before then and many times after, but now every time he does it, it brings me back to those exciting few moments shortly after he proposed. The excitement. the Happiness. Pure Joy. Inexplicable. Undeniable. Most Amazing Moment of My Life. (So far).

When we were deciding on the where and when for our e-shoot, I knew for sure, we had to include third beach as a location and I wanted to re-create that moment.

Well, we did and it brought me back all over again.

Is there anything that reminds you of the moment your fiance proposed? Does it still bring back all the feelings you had when he asked you to be "THE ONE"?

*Photo credit: David Bibeault

Beach Photos

"No matter where you travel, you will never be able to shake the sand out of your flip flops, nor the ocean from your soul...." -anonymous

Mr. Newport wanted to get some shots on the beach. Not just any beach, but the beach where he proposed. It is beautiful, romantic and secluded which helped since we didn't have to work around people on the beach. It was practically empty.

This wasn't by coincidence. We actually planned our shoot around Newport's busy schedule.I went online and looked up all upcoming events on the Go Newport* calendar, I then checked Salve's graduation date, Salve's summer session start date, and then we had a one week time frame to get the photos in! We chose May for the lack of students and the lack of tourists, which left us with excatly one week to get the photos without the hassle. The beach was pretty secluded, no tourists yet!

All photos by: David Bibeault

Did you plan the timing of your engagement shoot around other events?

*Go Newport is a website that gives tourist information related to Newport, RI. The calendar gives information on everything from events like the Boat Show, Restaurant Week, to plays in the area. It is a great resource, if you plan to visit

Alma Mater Photos

Shooting at Salve was a blast! Part of me has worried that we are over-obsessing with Newport when it comes to the wedding (it's where we met, we got engaged, where our engagement shoot was, and where the wedding and thus all wedding photos will be), so for about a minute I questioned why do it in Newport, well actually my sister quesitoned it. I briefly thought maybe I could do it somewhere else, but I couldn't think of one place I'd rather do it than Newport.

I am so glad we stuck with Newport. It truly was like a walk down memory lane. We started at The Salve gate that leads to the admissions building, then we walked through different areas of the campus.
Including outside Hunt Hall, our freshman dorm, where we met! We showed our Salve pride by sporting our Salve t-shirts for a portion of the shoot.
The shot above was included in our least favorite shot list, not because of our photographer, I just hate jeans and felt a little uncomfortable and Mr. Newport wasn't a huge fan of his outfit choice either, oh well, go Seahwaks!

This is our photographer, Dave's favorite shot: (I love it too!)
I really wanted to incorporate the "There's no place like Salve" sign, but I didn't really know how, so Dave came up with this cool shot!

Mr. Newport came up with this shot idea, which he is super proud of. He is actually way more creative than me when it comes to photos, which baffles me because I spend hours obsessing over photo blogs, but put me in front of a camera and I'm like a deer in headlights. I could hardly remember the key shots I wanted. He'd just walk around and point to something and say, that would make a cool shot, and it pretty much always is!
How gorgeous is Salve's campus? I miss it so much! Oh well, there's always reunions and wedding planning dates to get back there.....

Did/Does your engagement shoot location hold special meaning to you? Was/Is it the same location or similar to your wedding day location?

All photos credited to: David Bibeault

Engagement Photo Re-cap

Thing's didn't really go as planned...at all. When I booked our photographer for the session, I thought I had plenty of time to prepare and somehow it snuck up on us (even though I had months to plan). I spent the day before the shoot scrambling to find outfits I liked, I was a mess the day of deciding whether to curl or not to curl my hair, I didn't have time for a manicure, I never made an appointment to get my makeup done, so I did it myself, and I never really put together a real schedule. Sure I had lots of ideas over the past few months and I made tentative schedules, but when it came down to it, we kind of just went with the flow.

The day before, my mom and I went to Salve and kind of scouted out areas that could possibly make for good shots. I'm really happy we did this. I didn't want to regret missing any amazing areas, so it was good to walk around and get a feel for what we would really want to use for the shoot. Then, the day of the shoot, Mr. Newport and I took another trip to campus, also to look at different areas to shoot. I'm glad we did this too, because we cut down on a lot of options.

I love the rose garden and thought we could get some awesome shots, but Mr. Newport didn't understand the meaning behind the location. We didn't pick Newport because of it's beauty (altthough it definitely is), we picked it so we could have our photos taken in places that are meaningful to us. So we cut out a lot of places. We ended up taking photos where we first met, the place we went on an informal date/get to know you, the place we had our actual first date, outside the building we had our first dance and where Mr. Newport proposed. So lots of meaning behind every shot!

What I learned:

1. Relax beforehand. I spent the entire day before and morning of the shoot running around looking for outfits and shot locations- I ended up getting blisters and couldn't wear the cute shoes I planned on for our pictures. The sad thing is- I pretty much wore all clothes I already had, with the exception of a T-shirt bought from my alma mater the day before.

2. Plan ahead. See #1. If I had really planned my outfits ahead, I wouldn't have been spending so much time at the last minute running around.

3. Coordinate. Make sure outfits look good together, if you are wearing heels, it's probably not a good idea for him to wear sneakers. I had originally planned on wearing heels, but because of my sore feet and Mr. Newport's footwear choice, it made more sense for me to wear flip flops.

4. Choose a location with meaning. That was our main goal and when I veered off, Mr. Newport gave me some perspective. Sure you can get awesome spots at a palce that isn't meaningful, but to me, it makes the shots more personal.

5. Get creative- we brought in a couple props (more later)

6. Vary the shots. To make your photos more unique, try different outfits and more than one location, it will give you more options to choose from in the end. We ended up with three outfits each and three locations.

7. Trust your photographer and be flexible. I had so many ideas in mind, but at the last minute went with the flow, and I am so glad I did. Our photographer was super creative and had so many great ideas. We had ideas, but when we threw something out there, he knew how to make it work, which enhanced all of the ideas we put out there.
8. Be your self. I originally wanted a dressier outfit and heels, but they so aren't me. I do wear dresses almost every day, I dislike jeans and heels. I felt so comfortbale during the shoot, except for the portion we wore jeans, and they happen to be our least favorite shots. I didn't even own a pair of jeans, so I bought a pair, since I saw so many other pictures of other couples in jeans. I thought it looked natural, but it just didn't work for me, because it isn't who I am.

9. Don't always follow tips you hear, if it doesn't work for you. I was told to wear solid colors, but I love one of my patterned flowy dresses, so I chose to wear it anyways!

10. Have fun! We just kind of walked around and reminisced about our dating days. We were completely relaxed and didn't take it too seriously. We listened when our photographer gave suggestions. We also made sure we both gave each other reasons to smile throughout the shoot. It made it fun and more natural.

If you had your e-shoot already, what kind of tips do you have? or, What tips from others did you find the most helpful?

All photos credited to: David Bibeault

The Engagement Party

A few months after the proposal, a couple of friends threw us an amazing engagement party.

They held the party at The Estate, a fancy nightclub in Boston. The bachelorette scene from Bride Wars was filmed there. Apparently Kate Hudson is a huge fan of the club. I'm a new fan, too! It was the perfect setting for the party. My friends reserved a private room. It was actually two rooms, one had a bar and music, and the other side was a little more intimate. We were lucky that so many of our friends came. It ended up being a snowstorm on the night of the party. We were so grateful to have so many people there. It was so special. One of my favorite details was a slideshow BIL Newport created for us throughout our dating years set to music with quotes throughout. They had it playing on replay through out the night. The details were so awesome. Even the desserts fit the color sceme.The cupcakes: The one thing, I was allowed to do! My mom had said she would take care of them, but was sick before the party, so I made them so she wouldn't have to. I think they turned out great! All the supplies were bought through confectionery house. Except the rings, which were purchased through A.C. Moore.All of the food was amazing. Everything was home-made or purchased through Roche Brother's and everything was delicious!
Chocolate covered strawberries were a huge hit.
They had diamond details everywhere! It was dim in the place and everything was glowing from the candle light and sparkly diamonds.
A few of my mom's delicious homemade desserts.
They used the plate I made for Mr. Newport at a pottery studio, the week after he proposed. "Love is Life" is a quote written on an archway on the cliffwalk in Newport.

Did you have an engagement party?