Love, Laughs & Kisses...first miss now MRS.: ENGAGEMENT PARTY!

So you know the story of the proposal, now here's the story of our Engagement Party...and yes, the story might be just as long! ;)

Ever since we got engaged on August 12th, my mother has been alllll about having an Engagement Party for us when we got home! I have to say, the thought of celebrating our lives coming together as one - already - was very exciting for me, so I became alllll about it too! The date was set for Sept. 24th, 2010 and we invited our families to come together with our bridal party and closest friends to celebrate our engagement.

Our "H" napkins - complete with the date we got engaged!

My mother and my aunts, who came in town to help with the party, made our day very special for us. The house was decorated with our colors (black and white with accents of pink and green), with crystals everywhere! There was plenty of great food, drinks, and she even hired a close family friend of ours to take photos the entire time. I absolutely LOVE how she captures candid shots, and can't wait to share some of them with all of you...

Me and my girls!

My mother, (left) and 2 aunts that threw the party!

First, let me begin by saying the day of our big party it was a torrential downpour outside! Everyone was stuck in traffic, including us, and we showed up looking like wet cats when we finally got inside our parents house. Luckily, my mother had a hair dryer handy, so we all took turns drying off! Despite the horrible weather, I was pleased to see a great group of friends and family come out. I hadn't seen a lot of these people in quite some time, so I tried to spend my time mingling around, catching up and letting them know how much I appreciated them being there. What's funny is I barely got to spend any of my time with my groom, but I guess that's good training for the BIG DAY! From what I hear, it can be a whirlwind of a night and can feel like your bouncing from one table to the next - trying to get to everyone - and I definitely got a preview of that!

Me and my Granddaddy! It was also his birthday!

After most of the guests arrived, my parents gathered us around to make a toast. It started out with my dad addressing the guests, then Mr. Hess's dad showed his love with his words, followed by myself. This entire experience was very emotional for me, but I tried to hide my teary eyes with smiles and laughter. Little did I know, this night was going to mean a lot more to me than I thought...

The dads toasting to us!

When it was time for Mr. Hess to make his toast to the crowd, he immediately got choked up. I knew he could get emotional (although, to this day he will deny, deny, deny), but I had no idea it would be so hard for him to get through his words. At the time, I thought "Okay buddy, you can get through this - it's just a toast!" but he really let our family and friends in on the emotional, sweet, and loving side to him that most had only heard about before. He is known to our friends as a sweet, but mostly wild and crazy kid that knows how to have fun and put a smile on someones face. Tonight, I think he melted a lot of hearts, including my own.

The entire week, I had asked him over and over, "is it here yet?" talking about my ring. I couldn't wait for the day I had a ring of my own, and I could barely take the suspense of what it looked like! After two days of telling me it just wasn't going to be here in time for the party, I had learned to accept it...kind of. I put on a happy face, but in my mind I was still pretty upset that it wasn't going to be there for the party. Oh well, I thought - sooner or later I'll have it and I'm sure it will be worth the wait.

During the middle of his toast, Mr. Hess mentioned that I had been wearing his mother's ring, and that mine had taken longer than expected to arrive. From being the jokester he is, it did not surprise me that what he pulled out next was a HUGE black box with a HUGE costume diamond ring inside, while saying "Here you go....wasn't it worth the wait?!" I giggled, and took the giant ring, and was

ready to give him a hug anyways and then the tears really started flowing. He couldn't really speak for a minute, and when he pulled himself together I finally figured out what was going on. He told me to look under the big ring inside of the box, and BAM - there she was in all of her glory. MY RING!!!! I can't believe it!!!!!!! I was SO excited, and couldn't believe the day had finally come where I had MY ring! When I pulled it out, Mr. Hess took it from me and did something I completely didn't see coming. He got down on one knee, and re-proposed! We both started balling, and I showered him with hugs and THANK YOUs over and over! This was one of the greatest nights....EVER!

Gathering around to watch the video slide show

I moved over to my parents, giving them hugs as well, went to his parents, and then some of my friends. Everyone wanted to see it, and I was definitely on cloud 9 all over again, feeling the same kind of love I did when he originally proposed. After a few minutes, my mother then gathered us around to watch a video she had put together filled with photos from our trip to Arkansas, and then photos of us and our families throughout the last few years of dating. I was so happy to be able to share the trip with everyone there, who didn't get to see the photos of our engagement.

I know my mother worked very hard to give us a special night to celebrate us, and I will always remember the love given to us that night.

We are so blessed to be surrounded by such loving, inspiring, and caring people in our lives. THANK YOU to everyone who made it out to celebrate with us. What a great start to the planning of our wedding!