Honestly, when it comes to engagements, I feel like the unexpected ones are the best. This is our personal story of how Trevor popped the question.
This doesn't seem like it's related, but I promise, it is. It's funny- when I first told my mom I was getting my degree in photography, she was NOT thrilled (another story for another time) AND NOW- she is constantly commenting on my posts, liking my photos, and referring me to her friends to be their photographer.
So, it's no surprise that when it came to her friend getting married in October of 2017 at Boyne Mountain, MI for a small, intimate ceremony, she immediately told her to hire me.
We talked, we set our schedule, and I booked an Airbnb. Trevor was game to come with me, so I made sure it was okay if he tagged along, and she said that was perfectly fine!
Well, budgets got tight, and she decided to cancel the photography portion and make the wedding super intimate, which was perfectly fine. I still had the Airbnb, and Trevor's parents live on the west side of Michigan so we decided to still take the weekend and make it a fun little trip. Trevor suggested going to Rothbury where Electric Forest is held now that we had time to see it in off-season- something I have always wanted to do. I thought it was a brilliant idea.
We jetted out to our Airbnb and had a fantastic time in Twin Lake. We went to Hobo Tavern (a restaurant we have driven past a few times) and grabbed some drinks to hang out under the stars in the hot tub for the remainder of the night.
The next morning, we cleaned up, packed up and shipped out quite early to get breakfast before getting to Rothbury. I remember it being a little bit cold, so I asked Trevor to wear his sweater. He let me, but felt a little strange- and was acting realll weird. But I had a sneaky feeling this day was going to be one to remember forever.
As we drove into Rothbury, we were trying to gather our thoughts of where in the heck we would be in "Electric Forest" festival terms. We then drove up on a field, and to the left we saw this little cabin. I told Trevor, "If we can find the giving tree, we can find anything in here." So we set out to look for the giant Willow tree that people use to exchange gifts.
She is so beautiful in her full glory- just breezing in the wind! Trevor quickly looked around and said, alright! Let's head this way to get into the forest trees and see if any buildings stay around all year.
To our delight, there was! We walked around the Heart house, the Trading Post, the Reincarnation Garden, and made our way to the back. I recognized the spot where we sat and had our first really long and deep conversation, and Trevor began to say, " I will never forget leaving the festival that year we left, all the love I felt, how we connected, and the laughs we shared. I felt like I left that festival with my newfound love. So when I got home, I put a seed in a box and let it grow."
I turned to Trevor to see his glasses were all steamed up from tears as he got down on one knee and pulled out a cute little wooden box with E+T carved on the top.
"Erika, will you marry me?"
OH OF COURSE I SAID YES! The partner of my dreams proposed with the most gorgeous Amethyst ring and one band that is Australian opals + a diamond. I couldn't even freakin' believe it!
While we were there, I set my phone on self timer, and we did our own little engagement session around the Forest, just a private little engagement- the most perfect story we will tell for years to come.
We made our way back to the giving tree after our impromptu iphone photo shoot, and I wrote a tiny note, "I bought this turquoise ring when I was feeling out of sorts before I met my fiance and it has brought me so much luck. I hope this ring will do the same for you."
I tied it onto my ring that was then replaced with my engagement ring, and put it in the tree for that next Electric Forest.
Stay tuned for part 3, THE WEDDING! I cannot wait to share how we nailed our DIY wedding in 9 months!
XO,
Erika
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