Let me introduce you to Chris and Priscilla, otherwise known as “Chriscilla.” :)
A couple months ago, Priscilla told me that Chris was going to propose soon. It was after I teased her, and then jokingly asked when the wedding was! I was sooo happy to hear that this step in their relationship was coming soon! After she told me, we had a ton of conversations about marriage and proposals, which came naturally since I LOVE talking about those things! So naturally I tried to pick up on hints just in case Chris asked me about it. I distinctly remember her two hopes/requests:
- She wanted me and John hiding in bushes, taking pictures of it.
- She wanted foliage.
A couple days later, Chris messaged John, Hillary, Stacie Danny, Kristy and I with his thoughts of his proposal and from there with the help of Priscilla’s dear friends, Chris settled his proposal plan. This is what Chris told me after the proposal about his initial thoughts of everything he wanted to do that day. “I wanted there to be a lot of foliage and leaves because thats what priscilla really loves. I also wanted it to be outdoors in a open space.” Well! He knocked off both of those items! Everything was done so secretively! It was hard to keep it away from Pris! :)
Chris & Pris’ love story is super sweet. They met at a church art/music festival, where they got to serve together for the first time on the worship team after a mutual friend asked Priscilla to join with them! “I think my first impression of [Priscilla] was that she’s really good on piano. That and she seems mean haha. I definitely liked that she was musical.” Priscilla’s response to the question “What were your first thoughts on each other?” was funny, too: “I didn’t have any thoughts because he didn’t talk to me! Rude! We started playing together more at church and that’s when he finally worked up the courage to talk to me. I liked that he used his gifts to serve God.”
Over time, Chriscilla spent time together eating at food trucks! Chris, I’m told, was a gentleman! “He opened doors for me and gave me his jacket when I got cold. Bonus points! That caught my attention. He DTR’ed with me pretty quick after that heh heh.” After getting to know one another a little more, they became official in January of 2012–the 7th to be exact! ;) According to Priscilla, “Everything happened pretty quickly. I liked him more than I wanted to admit, especially because he made his intentions clear from the start. He made things so simple because of his honesty and I was excited to be with a genuinely nice guy who wasn’t shady at all. Hard to find! [Praise the Lord]! Haha”
And the rest is history! Marriage for the both of them came naturally as they continued to grow and mature in life. Chris could really see them being in it for the long haul, and Priscilla loved Chris’s loyal companionship. When Priscilla got her first full time job and Chris turned 30 this year, they began to look at marriage as being a step that would happen sooner than later. To quote Priscilla on that: “I was like well you’re not getting any younger!”
The day of the proposal was pretty chilly, but we were lucky because it rained the day before and there was not a drop of rain for seen for that Sunday! Danny, Kristy, John and I arrived at Lacy park right after church to set up a cute dessert picnic for the two of them to enjoy after a little stroll around the park!
Kristy, with the help of Pinterest, DIY-ed some awesome dessert plates and vases, painting them with gold rims and raising one to be like a stand! She also craftily bout some sweet flowers to make centerpieces! Hilary bought and dropped off some amazing macaroons and cupcakes for the lovely couple, as well as hot cocoa and snowman marshmallows! Kristy and I got to be florists for a day as we arranged the table to be just perfect for Crisilla when they saw it!
They arrived at the park around 2:15 and we waited and hid in anticipation for the big plan to unfold!
Hilary came and joined us for the surprise after the couple entered the park and made a lap around the circle! There were so many ways we could have been accidentally seen! Thank God Priscilla was pretty oblivious to her surroundings!
We wrote on leaves to help designate where they should each sit to help Chris figure out where to seat Priscilla, but it didn’t work out too well… haha! But it’s okay! Everything still turned out wonderfully! :)
Priscilla looked SO happy! I couldn’t help but smile as I took photos!
Of course, Priscilla had to stop and take a photo for her Instagram! :)
But then it was time for the awesome signs Stacie and Hilary made for the proposal!
Chris took a last sip of hot chocolate before it was “TIME”! :)
Danny got so close! I couldn’t believe Priscilla didn’t notice him! Danny, Kristy & Hilary did a GREAT job sneaking around through the foliage! What ninjas! :)
Then it HAPPENED! & Yes, there were tears!
WOOO!!! SHE SAID YES!!!
It was then time to celebrate! John and I emerged from the bushes and came to congratulate the two of them!
I’m fairly certain that this is when Priscilla looked at me and John and said, “YOU GUYS ARE SUCH LIARS!” Because we had seen her the night before and I told her I couldn’t hang out Sunday (the day of the proposal) because I’d be going home! Hehe :) We were sneaky!
Priscilla’s ring was GORGEOUS! You’ll see more of it later!
Chriscilla’s friends Doulos and Ben then came to help document the experience ! They interviewed the lovely couple about the proposal! They came a little bit late so Chriscilla reenacted the proposal for them! :)
By the end of that, Stacie was able to come and join us! :)
Good pick, Chris! Priscilla’s ring made Kristy’s eyes go like this:
And then, after many hugs and cries of happiness, it was fine for me to take my dear friends on a little mini session around the park! Bless their hearts for shooting with me in the cold weather! It was freezing!!
This was just to help them have a little fun in front of the camera before we got into more poses, but it turned out cute! Haha! It makes me laugh! :)
Kristy, Danny and John helped out with these scenes by hitting the tree branches with sticks to help make Priscilla’s dream come true–FOLIAGE!!
I LOVE this scene of them walking. And the next few are some of my absolute faves! :’)
I asked Chris & Priscilla how it feels like to be engaged! This is how they replied:
“Feels weird to call her my fiancee but definitely in a good way.” – Chris
“It still hasn’t sunk in yet that we’re now engaged. But I’m excited when I look at him and know that we are committed to spend the rest of our lives together. God is so good and gracious. Not super excited for wedding planing but excited for the marriage!” – Priscilla
After some fun in the foliage, we came back to be with the rest of the group! Of COURSE we had to take some group photos as well! :)
Priscilla and I tried to do something fun (why not thug faces?), but we failed. HAHA!
We took a couple last shots with the awesome signs and then “split off into our own ways.”
Little did Priscilla know what else Chris had in store for her! We said our goodbyes and as Priscilla & Chris headed back to Priscilla’s apartment to call family and calm down, we headed to Abricott for their dinner! This place was SO awesomely decorated!! Such a good choice Chris! Stacie made the little flower arrangements on the table! So cute! :)
We got word that they were parked and ready to come in, so how do we hide? Behind our menus. :) So clever, right? ;)
Priscilla was so surprised! WOO! Great job again, Chris! :)
Priscilla’s other dear friend, Angie, also got to join in on the party! :)
There were even balloons at this festivity! :) (And babies! So cute!!)
Group photo number 2! :)
After our fantastic food, Priscilla and Chris then ordered a ton of desserts that Kristy & I had ogled over when we saw them at the front. What do they have, you might ask? AMAZINGLY delicious cheesecakes, pistachio ice cream and ice cream with an AMAZING homemade waffle. :) SO GOOD! YUM!
After we scarfed down those sweets, it was time for Chriscilla to make a speech! :)
It took a lot of coaxing but we got Priscilla to get up and make one too! :)
But that wasn’t all we had in store for them! Then, someone blurted out the question, “What are 3 things you guys love about each other?!” And they were forced to answer that as well. :) I asked the both of them to re-tell me three things they loved about each other, because I couldn’t remember them all after the party! Of course seeing them say it at the dinner was a lot more sentimental, but their written answers were just as sweet to me! :)
Chris’ answers were pretty concise (as men tend to be), but cute nonetheless: “Shes musical and supportive and caring about me.”
Priscilla wrote it out as a list:
- “He’s always encouraging. Not just to me but to others too.”
- “He’s kinda ghetto. Keeps things real and makes me laugh when he tries to rap.”
- “He’s a friend I’d want to have forever…”
Her last answer was verbatim what she said at the dinner, as well. It was DEFINITELY the quote of the night! So cute, I wanted to cry!
And to end the night, I had to get at least ONE more shot of her GORGEOUS ring! :)
And of course, a last group photo of all the people who were able to stay later to officially end the night! :)
I asked Priscilla what her thoughts were on her special proposal day, her answer was really sweet! :)
“When he pulled out the ring my mind went blank and I just started crying and was a mess for the first 5 minutes. Cried even more when friends popped out. He doesn’t really like planning things so it was nice enjoying his efforts. I’m also glad he knew to ask friends to help :) I felt overwhelmingly blessed by everything our friends did and I loved the second surprise when everyone was at dinner. My family isn’t in SoCal but I still felt so loved and supported by our friends. When I think back on that day I still can’t believe it happened. He picked a beautiful place and the day was amazing. It was more than I could’ve imagined.”
Job well done, Chris! What a well spent, blessed Sunday!
CONGRATULATIONS CHRISCILLA! :)
Happy Friday!