Soooo.. In case you haven’t heard we’re officially engaged!!!! We’re very excited and we wanted to thank everyone who played a part in the whole keeping-secrets-from-Catharine-for two-weeks thing. The whole evening was perfect :)

Okay before I tell you the story, you should probably read about how we met so that it will make a lot more sense.

THE STORY:

Derek and I had planned on a date night Friday night [11.11.11] and we really wanted to go to LaCantera because we hadn’t been in a while and it’s really pretty this time of year. So I had big plans to get my shopping on and Derek had to take his laptop to the Apple store to get something looked at. We ended up taking care of the Apple thing first because he had an appointment lined up. So we headed straight back to the Genius Bar and talked to a few of our friends/Derek’s old co-workers while we waited. When it was his turn we grabbed some stools and Derek explained what was wrong with his computer while I talked about how much my laptop hated Lion. Then all of a sudden the giant Displays on the back wall of the store read: “Catharine…”

So I’m sitting there thinking “wow they’re demoing something using my name..  wait that’s spelled exactly like my name.. wait.. everyone is staring at me” And then it read “will you marry me?” and I turned around and Derek was down on one knee asking me to marry him! Of course I said yes! At that moment I realized I should probably get off my stool and hug him or kiss him or something. When I stood up I realized that my knees were shaking like crazy and so were my hands, I was so excited! I was now facing the front of the store and had noticed that the ENTIRE store had frozen and was watching and cheering for us. It was insane. A little old woman even ran up to us and asked to take our picture! Ummm sure why not? So then we took lots of pictures and hugged all of our Apple friends, and as we headed out the doors the entire store clapped us out like it was a product launch day. It was pretty amazing! As we walked out I asked “wait!!! Did you get your laptop fixed??” It took a minute and then I realized that his laptop wasn’t actually broken it was all just a scheme to get me into Apple. Talk about perfect. We met at Apple, and we got engaged there.

Afterword I didn’t even want to go shopping anymore and Derek said “GOOD because all of our friends are waiting for us at my house!” So we called our parents on the way to Derek’s because they have known for weeks and were apparently on the edges of their seats. I was really impressed that my mom was able to keep this quiet for so long! Then we pulled up to his house and everyone was there! Derek had even called my favorite co-workers, and friends I hadn’t seen in forever! It was so sweet of him and I couldn’t have been more surprised!

Okay now for lots of photos and crying..

All photos [except for the last one] are courtesy of Brandon Rice.

A message from Derek:

Thanks to everyone who gave me advice, helped me plan, and kept the secret. Thank you Apple LaCantera for your help and hospitality.

So I think it goes unsaid, but our 11.11.11 wishes definitely came true Friday night.