Engagement in Tahoe

We’re Engaged!

You all have read about our relationship as it’s happened, whether through travels or through family-focused posts. He first made an appearance on my blog last April, and holidays, experiences and most of our trips have been duly chronicled. Now I’m extremely excited to announce that Scott and are going to tie the knot! I expected my posts this weekend to be about Lake Tahoe as we’re up here to celebrate Memorial Day weekend but as of yesterday, blog priorities changed quite a bit.

My New MK Watch!

Scott had surprised me with an incredible watch as a pre-birthday surprise. The watch was housed in a jewelry box that he has designed, with his picture covering the top. I was ecstatic, seeing as how I’d been searching for a watch for a while, and equally excited about the time he had put into designing the jewelry box. As per usual, his choice was spot on and I immediately started removing links from my new piece and examining how it sat on my wrist.

Sitting inside, looking out at this.

Whilst sitting on the kitchen counter inside the cabin, joyfully playing with my new watch, listening to music, and munching on some freshly roasted brussels sprouts, Scott fast forwarded the iPod to our ‘song’. The song started playing, but the lead singer of Thompson Square (yes, our song is a Thompson Square song — no judgement) wasn’t singing — it was Scott on the vocals. Naturally, I found myself a bit confused; a little shocked that he wrote a song out of the blue… perhaps to commemorate the watch? I mean, it is a nice watch…

The lyrics talked about us being in Tahoe (did he just write this I wondered?) and reminisced about our relationship before getting to the end, where lyrics turned to wedding bells and Scott pulled out a box while he knelt down on one knee. Seeing as I had zero expectations that this was going to happen, and thinking that there was a solid (80%+ chance) that I was actually dreaming, my response wasn’t exactly as I had imagined/planned. Believe me, I’ve imagined what my response would be like and thought it would likely happen like this: He would start to ask and I would likely raise my left hand over my mouth (possibly both), gasping and wide-eyed in surprise while really knowing that this was coming. Instead, I started crying hysterically, laughing and hugging him without even really looking at the ring or saying yes. Of course it was a yes, though (naturally he asked for verification purposes) and when I looked over at the ring — wow. Just wow. Sure, I had thought about what I might like in an engagement ring, but this surpassed anything that I could dream up on my own:

When I found out that Scott actually had a significant hand in designing it (with the help of San Francisco-based jeweler Eddie Suetake of the Suetake Brothers), I was overwhelmed. It wasn’t him just picking out a ring; it was him taking the time to go in, to meet with the jewelers and to pick all of the elements that brought this amazing ring together.

And now, here I am. 830A on Saturday, having been up since 3A since I’m too excited to sleep. Bonus: he arranged for both of our families to come up to Tahoe for the weekend to celebrate. What a gem of a guy. Let’s get this planning underway!

Cheers from Tahoe!

The Future Mrs. Kircher

More about Shannon Kircher

Shannon Kircher is the founder and editor of The Wanderlust Effect. Founded in 2009, she has continued to document her international escapes as an expat in Europe and the Caribbean. Additionally, Shannon is the founder of Compass & Vine, a luxury boutique travel design firm, and is the Director of Marketing for the Frangipani Beach Resort. Shannon holds an MSc in Social Policy and Development from the London School of Economics and is a current candidate for WSET Level 3 in Wines & Spirits.