Ohhhh my goodness. Talk about a THROWBACK! A friend of mine, who is a photographer, posted something earlier this week that prompted the original thought of this post! I can’t remember what she said or posted, but it immediately had me thinking back to the night Jerry proposed to me.

June 2012. Jerry and I had a trip planned down to a little piece of paradise called Siesta Key, FL. I do believe this was my first visit— and I was SO excited. We had planned this trip with Jerry’s family and I was so excited to spend a week all together in such a beautiful place. Upon arrival, Jerry showed me around to some super cool bars and restaurants and we wasted no time indulging in some drinks! 😉

We spent the week enjoying life to the fullest. Sleeping in, staying out on the beach late. It truly was one of the best weeks of my life. There was just some sort of overwhelming peace and contentment that week. Jerry had I had been together almost 6 years at the point of our engagement, and about 6 months prior to this, we had split up. It was only a few weeks, but it was enough for us to both realize what we had was worth fighting for.

The thing is about Jerry and I, is that we are polar opposites. And why I think that is a good thing, it does present challenges within a long term relationship. I have a very bold and kind of- in your face type of personality. Lol. Jerry is more soft spoken, more chill, more go with the flow. I am a huge planner, I need to know every detail of every possible thing, and I’m also a HUGE worst case scenario thinker. Take all those things, flip them, and that’s Jerry’s personality- haha.

That being said, it has been SO good for us to navigate all the hardships that life and marriage has. It has made us two really strong and loving people. Which I am so thankful for- as I feel we are in SUCH a good place and can place our focus on our children and our businesses.

OK! Back to proposal.

I had some sort of feeling all week that Jerry was up to something. He was just not himself, seemed really hyper, just…off. Our final night, a Thursday, I told him I really wanted to have a nice dinner somewhere. I didn’t care where, just somewhere with a view and good food. Jerry told me he would have it handled. Gosh- I remember this night and every detail so vividly. Which is probably both a good thing and bad thing (keep reading hahaha)…

As we were getting ready to head to dinner, I remember Jerry asking me if he should wear shorts or “slacks”…pause for laughter. I told him I wasn’t sure how nice of place we were going to and that he should use his own best judgement. I was wearing a maxi dress! We hop in our rental car and head to dinner. We drove for a good 20 mins or so, and I had NO clue where we were or where we were going. We finally arrive and pull into a gated drive. No sign (that I saw) in sight. We roll up and a valet greets us, and opens my door and says “Welcome to the Ritz Carlton miss”……………………..WHAT. We are NOT Ritz Carlton people. at all. I immediately turned to Jerry and so angrily said “YOU SHOULD HAVE DEFINITELY WORN SLACKS!!!!”.

We go inside, and they sit us out on the beautiful terrace/patio that overlooks the gulf. Sunset was just a few mins away from happening, and our waiter had suggested we go down to a certain spot to watch it. As we were watching the sunset, I started to get really skiddish as I thought “omg. this is totally when he’s going to get down on one knee!”……………he did not. The sun set and the moment was over. Back to our table we went.

We had an amazing dinner, some insanely expensive champagne (that I am still mad that he bought!) haha. After dinner, we headed down into the courtyard where there was a beautiful sitting area, with bistro lights hanging above. It was here that we got into a deep conversation about our past, our current relationship, and our future. I REALLY thought this was the moment. He started fidgeting, seeming to struggle to keep the conversation flowing….aaaaaaaand all of a sudden we hear “MARCO! POLO! Marco Polo!” coming from the pool, just a few feet away. End scene.

Jerry suggests we head out and see what else we can get into. I eagerly asked where we were going next (like- this can’t be real- am I crazy or is he trying to propose?!). He said he heard of a really cool bridge called Skyway bridge that goes over the bay and is supposed to have some super cool views. As we head to that bridge, you have to stop and pay a toll. Jerry asks the lady if there is a location on the bridge to stop and she assures him there is. Folks, there was not. This bridge was approximately a one minute up and over. LOL. After this, Jerry says we are just going to head back to the condo. I IMMEDIATELY feel tears welling up. I just stared out my passenger window as I felt the tears start to fall. I thought “I absolutely cannot let him see me crying. I can’t let him know what I thought tonight was going to be”. But Jerry knowing me, and knowing I was far too quiet- asks me what’s wrong. I choked back tears and muttered out “nothing I’m fine”. Jerry pulls me back to see my face and immediately pulls the car over. We were in front of some grungy industrial plant in Sarasota, and I remember sobbing into him saying “I just really thought you were going to propose to me tonight!”, and Jerry pulls a ring box out of his pocket, without opening it, and yells “I was!! See!! I just felt no moment was good enough and stuff kept happening!!” I sobbed even harder and yelled “DON’T DO IT HEREEEEEEEE!” LOLOLOL. Ahhhhh yes. In true Jerry and Brittany fashion, that’s what happened. BUT! It does have a happy ending…

We headed back to the condo (I did not see the ring, nor did he ask), and we headed out to the beach. We were the only ones on the beach as I do believe it was after midnight at this point. Jerry and I laid on one lounge chair together, and just watched a few shooting stars fly over the ocean. It was truly one of the most amazing moments in my life to date. After an hour or so, Jerry got down on one knee and said “The next time we come down here, I want you to be my wife” <3 So so so amazing. I then used the flashlight on my phone to check out the ring hahahahaha. #truestory

I remember calling my mom back home around 2am and telling her. We told our families in the morning, and spent our last day that Friday soaking it all in and celebrating!