Leslie and Ross are getting married!
I could not be more thrilled for them. They truly are the perfect match and every part of me is beyond excited for their wedding day!
For those of you who may be new to the blog, Ross is actually one of Ryan’s best friends from college. He was even a groomsman in our wedding and popped up on the blog many times before he started dating Leslie. I met Ross through Ryan and he quickly became a good friend of mine when I was a freshman in college. I’ve known him for nearly 10 years and think the world of him. (Fun fact: When Leslie and Ross started dating, “Ross” became the number one search term on my blog for a solid month!)
Ross and Leslie started dating the year after our wedding and from the moment my sister told me about their first date, I had a feeling they stumbled upon something really special. I could tell there was something different and unique about their relationship and I was excited to watch it grow. As they continued dating, it was apparent to everyone around them that their love was the real deal. They were caring and affectionate. Patient and fun-loving. A great match!
A couple of weeks ago, Ross let me and my family in on his plans to propose. We were thrilled! After hearing Leslie and Ross tell the story of the proposal, it sounds like it was absolutely amazing! I’m so glad our family could be a part of the surprise at the end of the day! But let’s back up to the beginning…
The Proposal
Early last week, Ross had one of his coworkers email him, telling him he needed to come into work for a few hours on the 4th of July. He forwarded the email to Leslie with a sad face in the email body, but told her they’d do something fun to make up for it and to be ready around noon.
Well, that was all a ruse! Ross really set his alarm for 6 a.m. on the 4th of July, drove to St. Augustine, walked more than a mile down a secluded beach and set up a little picnic spot for them to visit later.
In the early afternoon, they got together and drove back down to St. Augustine to spend the day by the water.
First up was kayaking!
Then they rode beach cruisers along the beach, looking for a spot to stop to eat. After they had been riding for a while, Leslie said they should pick a spot and Ross joked that they should hijack some random peoples’ stuff. When he went to sit in their chairs, Leslie said they couldn’t really takeover someone’s picnic and that’s when Ross explained that he set it up for them earlier that day.
She was shocked and said she thought it was so sweet!
Not long after that, on the secluded beach, Ross told Leslie he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her and that he wanted the rest of his life to start right at that moment. (Yes, I cried when he told this part of the story to me!)
She was shocked and so, so excited! Leslie said her mind was racing and that she can’t remember most of what Ross said when he proposed! She remembers him getting down on one knee and feeling so surprised when she saw the ring, but her thoughts were moving a mile a minute.
That picture of her makes me smile so big. Pure joy!
The surprises didn’t stop there! Ross planned for a captain to meet them in St. Augustine and take them for a romantic 60-minute boat cruise following the proposal.
The boat took them all around St. Augustine.
Everyone was out and about to check out the 4th of July fireworks!
The cruise then dropped them off at Cap’s on the Water, the restaurant where they had their first date.
And that’s where we came in! Ross had his mom and our family waiting at the restaurant to surprise Leslie when they arrived!
We got there about 40 minutes early and anxiously sipped on mojitos as we waited for them to arrive.
Once I spotted their boat in the distance, I started freaking out. Luckily the other people dining outside at Cap’s were really into the proposal as well and didn’t mind me popping in beside their tables to snap some pictures as the captain docked their boat.
Heeeere they come!
Surprise!!!
Leslie was absolutely shocked that we were all in on the big surprise and she said that she was so happy Ross thought to include our family in their special day.
We all agreed that we felt honored to share such a special moment with Leslie and Ross. My dad ordered two bottles of champagne for the table and we made sure to toast to the newly engaged couple!
After Leslie and Ross took us through their whole proposal story, we ordered dinner and more drinks and had a great time celebrating their engagement and the 4th of July!
It was the perfect 4th of July.
Congratulations to Ross and Leslie!!!
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This post truly gives me butterflies. It is so sweetly written! Thanks for sharing!
Wow, he put so much thought into the proposal! What a wonderful story!
Leslie is going to LOVE being able to have this to read and look back on forever! Congrats to them 🙂
Oh my gosh that is the cutest proposal story!! I had no idea Ross was one of Ryan’s friends! Totally meant to be for your family. Congrats!
What a beautiful proposal! It’s obvious that there is so much love in your family- you guys are so blessed! Sounds like it was the most wonderful 4th of July possible 🙂
How precious! I got teary eyed just reading it.
Congratulations to them both!
What a lovely proposal! Best of luck to them!
Love Love Love! 🙂
Congratulations to your sister! That’s the most thoughtful proposal I’ve ever heard 🙂
Absolutely wonderful! Congrats to them both!
Now your Maid of Honor (I’m just assuming…
Yay!! My hubby proposed in St. Augustine and we were married in the Cathedral Basilica!!! What a great proposal!!
What a special story! thanks for “including” us : )
Congratulations to your whole family! My sister’s marrying next year and I’m getting pretty nervous/excited. I just love all the joy in these photos though. Even the woman popping the champagne looks thrilled. What a day!
So happy for her!! Any chance to get an up close pic of the ring??
Congrats Leslie and Ross! And congrats Julie to making Ross a member of the family:)
Julie, it means so much to Ross and me that you took time to capture our special day in the most perfect way! We love you so much!!!
Wasn’t it great? We are reliving it through the blog and pictures. Thank you, Julie!
Yes!! So sweet of her! You made it so special too mama!
That is so beautiful and sweet! I cant get over how thoughtful every moment of it seemed, Congrats to them!
Awwww! How sweet! Congrats to them!
Wooooooooo hoooooo!!! Yayyyy!!! I’m so excited for them! After I saw the many different stories of how well you all got along as a foursome, I thought, “those two are headed down the aisle one day.” You just can’t stop a run away love train when friends, family, and everyone around you falls in love with your love too. It’s inevitable!!
Thanks to you and to them for letting us in on the surprise. Made me a little teary having all the family at the restaurant waiting to greet them. Sooooo special – I love what a close knit group of people you are. xoxoxo!
Also, has anybody ever commented that your sister looks a bit like Sienna Miller and Elizabeth Banks? A blend!
Congrats again to your happy sister, the happy couple, and the happy extended family. 🙂 Woo hoo!
blessings,
Kimberly
I just love how happy they both look!! Sheer joy!
I had absolute chills down my spine with that story! What an amazing and incredibly special and well thought out proposal. You can tell how much Ross must love your sister to go to that effort and I love that he included all of you in the proposal too, and the boat cruise to top it off 😀
Congratulations again to your sister and now new fiancé!!
What a beautiful proposal!!! Leslie and Ross look so happy!!! I am fairly new to your blog, so that was really cool to hear how Ross and Ryan are such close friends. Congrats to everyone!
I was absolutely GRINNING while reading that whole post!!!!! Congratulations to the newlyweds!!!!! Thanks Julie for sharing such a special day!!!
*Newly Engaged…I was clearly too excited to type
Awwww! That was fabulous! Talk about an amazing way to propose… wishing your sister and Ross all the best!
Wow- I just cried reading that. So much love and happiness in this post.
What a special day! You can see all the love in your pictures.
I’ve been reading your blog for nearly 3 years now and even though I’ve never met you and your family I feel so much excitement for you all and Leslie and Ross! What an exciting moment! Ross did a great job planning everything! Can’t wait for the posts to come about wedding planning and then the weddin post! So happy for your family!
How adorable! I was wondering when all this would happen seeing as Ross has been included in all the family events for a while. Congrats and Best Wishes to them on a lifetime of love and happiness!!
-AJ
FitTravelerAJ.com
Such a great story!! Congratulations to Leslie and Ross! 🙂
Congratulations Leslie! What a cute story.
What a wonderful day for Leslie, Ross and your entire family! They seem like a great couple, and I can’t wait to read about the plans for their wedding – and the inevitable crafting of the matron of honor!
Congratulations!! That is such a cute story! 🙂
Yay…what a great story! Lesilie looks soooo happy!
That is probably one of the sweetest proposals I’ve heard! I love it! Congratulations!
Such a sweet story!
I kept saying the whole way through in my head “I’m so happy for them!!”. Congrats again to them both and thanks so much for sharing the story with us! 🙂
One big massive congratulations to the beautiful couple!! They are so cute together 🙂 the proposal sounds amazing! Something people write about, dream of, wish.. Even maybe watch in movies! The both of you (you Julie and your sister!) are so lucky to have found amazing men to spend the rest of your lives together 🙂 ! I’m such a hopeless romantic,
It really sounds like the perfect proposal 🙂
What an awesome proposal story! That’s amazing how much he arranged ahead of time and I bet you’re so thrilled to get started on the wedding planning!
What a beautiful proposal- so happy for them and your family!
I”m so excited for them!!! What an amazing story!!!
Aww! Sound absolutely perfect.
That gave me goosebumps! Everything he did was so thoughtful 😀 Congrats to your little sis 🙂
Aw how cute 🙂 Congrats to your sister!!! I love engagement stories, nothing sweeter!
Even that first picture (with her on his back) made me emotional. They both look so happy and excited!! Congratulations to both of them 🙂
Congrats to your sister! What an awesome engagement story. Now they will always have special memories on every 4th of July!
P.s. You are rocking those flag glasses!! 😉
this is such a cute proposal! I cannot help but tear up while reading this, I am such a sap for proposal stories!
This is such a beautiful engagement story! Congratulations to them. I’m so happy you enjoyed the holiday! Cute glasses by the way 🙂
Congrats to Leslie and Ross! Such a sweet story to read 🙂 I think I had to hold back the tears a bit while reading the part about what Ross had said as he proposed. So beautiful!
Wow, what a wonderful proposal story! Congratulations to Leslie and Ross!!
This is such a wonderful story and I’m really glad he decided to include your families, as well! I think it makes the moment extra special when you get the entire family involved to celebrate! Congratulations to them both!
I knew this would happen! EEEE