Five years ago today, David and I got engaged. Now that we’re married, it’s easy to forget anniversaries beyond our wedding date (I can hardly remember my own birthday!), but I think it’s important to celebrate the smaller things and acknowledge how far we’ve come. In some ways it feels like a lifetime ago that David was getting down on one knee and popping the question, and in others, if feels like just yesterday. So, in honor of our “engagement anniversary,” here’s the story behind David’s proposal.

At the time, David was living in Rhode Island and I was still in New York City, so we’d alternate visiting each other every other weekend. Going from living together in the city to living in different states definitely tested our relationship but, ultimately, it made us both realize we wanted to be together for the long haul. The weekend he proposed David was visiting me in New York, and he decided to make dinner reservations at Ruby Foo’s for Sunday night. I knew something was up just by virtue of the fact that we were going out to dinner on a Sunday (and midtown nonetheless!) but I played dumb.

All throughout dinner I kept expecting to find the ring in some exotic dish, but each course passed without a proposal, so I started to second guess my intuition. When the check came and there was still no sign of a ring, I was convinced I had it all wrong and David wasn’t going to propose that evening after all. I hid my disappointment as we left the restaurant, and David suggested we walk by our old office building, which was down the street and the place where we first met. It was cold and starting to snow, so I wasn’t really feeling it and just wanted to go home, but I reluctantly agreed.

In all honesty, the rest is kind of a blur to me! I remember getting to the office with the snow swirling around us, David getting all serious and saying incredibly sweet things about how much I mean to him, etc., and then dropping to one knee and asking me to marry him. David jokes that before I said “Yes” or even let him put the ring on my finger I snatched it out of the box. I have no recollection of that but, what can I say, I guess I was just excited! Needless to say, I eventually did say “Yes” and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made (love ya Smooch!).

Somehow we managed to not take any pictures the night of our engagement but here are a couple from a few days after in Florida:

And a few of my faves from our engagement photo shoot (taken by Angelica Criscuolo Photography):

If you’re married or engaged, how did your significant other propose? Were you surprised or totally expecting it?