Casey, Zach’s younger sister, started dating Jordan back in the fall of 2008. Zach and I met him when we went up there for Zach to work and while we liked him right away…we’ve learned that first impressions are usually WAY off so we didn’t get our hopes up too much about him 😉 Since then we’ve gotten to know him a little better on Parker vacations or when they’d come to town but it wasn’t until they both officially moved back to Valdosta this spring when we really got to know Jordan. First impressions were wrong to an extent…because he’s even better than what we first thought when we met him!!!
Zach and Jordan have become fast friends and I sometimes feel that Zach loves Jordan more than he loves me 😉 I am SO happy that Zach has such a wonderful friend in Jordan. And I’m even happier that Casey has found such a wonderful man to spend the rest of her life with. He’s a lot like her brother and she probably doesn’t like admitting that!
Casey and Jordan have been dating for almost three years now and I remember being where she was at before they got engaged. She was reeeeeeeally ready to be his bride and no longer just a “girl friend.” I reached that point in my relationship with Zach and remember being beyond frustrated that he hadn’t proposed yet! Jordan didn’t rush (which if you know Jordan isn’t surprising…he doesn’t rush about much haha) and I’m SO glad he planned something so perfect for her special day!
He asked Zach earlier this summer to go up to Steel’s with him to look at rings (and see the wishlist we had made with Casey earlier this year, remember?) and started planning the actual proposal a few weeks before he popped the question. When I tell people the story they always ask if I helped him plan it because it does sound like something I’d come up with…but I PROMISE he came up with everything on his own!!! He did include me and Zach on a lot of the planning which was so sweet of him and I loved every second of it!!!
I’m hoping someday Casey will guest blog on here to write her version of the story but here’s mine:
Friday night July 15th Casey and Jordan were supposed to leave for the beach but he talked her out of going and instead they came to our house for dinner and to play games. He was mega, mega obnoxious all night towards her b/c he knew he’d be totally forgiven the next day which was hilarious. It was also ironic that Casey was pretty upset that night over them not being engaged yet. She started school a couple weeks later and had really wanted to use her summer to plan the wedding (totally understandable with her first year teaching being this year!). Whenever the guys weren’t around she and I were talking about how disappointed she was not to be engaged. I had to keep a straight face and play it cool…I even suggested that maybe she should break up with him if he’s not ready to move forward in their relationship! The sweetest thing was, even though she was annoyed with him taking so long she still said “no, I’ll wait three more years if I have to, I just don’t want to wait that long!”
They drove separately (Jordan had come over straight from work) and Jordan ended up leaving before Casey. I tried to stall her as long as possible so he could get done with any last minute details and she ended up going home probably more upset with him than when she got to our house thanks to all my poking and prodding at the subject!
I literally could NOT sleep that night. I was SO excited. I know I’m lame but how many times in life do you get to be a part of such a BIG event?!?! Not many! I sure as heck didn’t help plan my own proposal (someday I need to write that on here…it was perfect!) so this was my first time being in the “know” about something like this and I ate it up 😉 Seriously it made me giddy with excitement and I was the happiest I’d been in awhile!!!
Jordan planned an entire day long proposal which was great. Casey was under the impression that they would be going to the beach that day together so he got up that morning and just bolted. She was still upset from the night before and didn’t worry about him I guess! He planned out a scavenger hunt for her which was thoughtful because she has all the clues he wrote her and she can keep them forever, plus he included EVERYONE in on her special day which was so meaningful. He used that morning to drop off clues and came to our house to pick up the ring and give us our clue. I felt honored to get to keep the ring at our house…and I’m not gonna lie…I tottttally tried it on 😉
We wished him well and he was off! I LOVE seeing guys cry (happy tears) and be nervous b/c they are two things you typically don’t see guys do…Jordan was nervous and it was precious. He was ampted up and couldn’t stop talking! The week leading up to the proposal he called me a ton and even came to the house twice to discuss plans with me. He really wanted to make her day perfect and seeing him care so much about it made me like him even more!
soon-to-be off the market!
no worries…he DID change before the big question 😉
After Jordan left he called Casey because he still hadn’t heard from her and he needed to make sure she actually got the first clue to start the process! She wasn’t too happy with him on the phone and he told her he was out getting breakfast and to go look in a drawer in his room for something he needed (they are both living with Mr. Rusty and Mrs. Charlotte right now…in separate rooms people…until they both get jobs/paychecks/or possibly till the wedding to save money!). He told her to open the envelop that was in the drawer then he hung up on her! I guess it was a sweet letter that got the whole day started…I LOVE that she knew she was getting engaged. I think it was smart to start the whole thing off where she knew it was happening b/c, let’s be honest, she was at the point in their relationship where she suspected it 24/7. Every time they went on a date she was probably digging through the desserts looking for that ring!!! The surprise wasn’t that she was getting engaged…it was how, where, and who all she’d see along the journey. It was very symbolic b/c he made her wait a looooong time for that proposal and the day it happened she had to wait a looooong time again. The whole scavenger hunt thing started at like 10:30 and he didn’t pop the big question until 7ish that night!
Zach and I took Kye to Mom’s for the night so we could play our part in everything. Jordan had hoped all the family could be involved but Courtney and Brad were out of town and it didn’t make sense for us to bring Kye along especially since it’d mean skipping nap so I went to Courtney’s a few days prior and made a video of the kids and of Courtney wishing them well and congratulating them (I’ll post the videos whenever Casey writes her version of the story!).
Our clue was the 5th one and Jordan totally sealed it shut on us. We were so eager to know more that we used our spy skills and held it up to the light in our bathroom to read it. It was so cute how he made it rhyme 😉 We had to drive up to exit 84 and meet Casey at a DQ (I didn’t mind that at ALL!) where they always stop together on their trips back and forth from Kennesaw to Valdosta.
heading to the Dairy Queen!
Each time someone gave Casey a clue they’d call Jordan when she left and let him know so he could plan out timing of things. We hid our car in a nearby hotel parking lot and waited for Casey to arrive. We were both so nervous! I just didn’t want to say too much!!! Casey had been given instructions from Jordan’s letter not to call anyone so I hadn’t heard from her all morning and neither had Mrs. Charlotte (it was HILARIOUS…Jordan would call us after Casey got a clue and I’d call Mrs. Charlotte and tell her then she’d call me back if he called her too or if she talked to someone else who had seen Casey…we talked more that day than we ever have!).
When she arrived she was surprised to see us and said she thought I for sure hadn’t known anything after all our talks the night before! We tried to make it last awhile and ordered her the Blizzard Jordan told us to get for her but she was too excited to even touch it 🙂 She was just ready to hit the road for the next clue!!!
Zach and Casey
SOOOO excited for her!!!!!!
It was so great seeing Casey so excited and happy, especially after having seen her so upset less than 24 hours prior. She was surprised and even said then that it was worth the wait 😉 Our clue took her ALL the way to Kennesaw!!! We got some Subway after she left to try to take up some time and then we headed to Kennesaw too. It all worked out great because Mr. Rusty and Mrs. Charlotte had been in Helen for a few days so they met us at Jordan’s parents house in Kennesaw to be there after the proposal so we could all celebrate their engagement together. Wasn’t that so sweet of Jordan to invite us all to be there?
On our way up Jordan called and said he was stuck in badddd traffic. He literally had only moved 15 miles in over 2 HOURS. So Zach called Casey to re-route her and we took a different route as well. It was a clutch move on Zach’s part because it could have potentially ruined everything if she’d been stuck in that same traffic! Since the traffic set things back on timing, Mr. And Mrs. Bacon went ahead and had us all eat dinner when we arrived. Jordan’s grandmother is legit Italian and made her special pasta dish which was quite a treat!
Mr. David, Dot, Nanny, Mrs. Denise, Mr. Rusty, Mrs. Charlotte and Zach enjoying our Italian feast!
Mrs. Charlotte was sweet to offer to take one of me in it too!
After the proposal (he proposed in Centennial Park…and the only thing I did help with was setting up a photographer, thanks to Javon Longieliere and his intern, to hide and capture the moment in pictures for them. They are AMAZING but again…I wanna wait to showcase them until Casey gets to tell her version!) Jordan called and said they were on their way. Casey tried to call her mom and Mrs. Charlotte left her phone in her car on purpose because she wanted to surprise her in person 😉 Mr. Rusty, Mrs. Charlotte, Zach and I all hid when they arrived so they could visit with Jordan’s parents and grandmas then we came around the corner. It was so great that they both got to have their parents there showing their support and excitement!!!
I totally made everyone go outside for pictures and here’s ours with the newly engaged couple 🙂
We visited for a long time and I loved seeing Casey SO happy. She was glowing and could not stop looking at her ring (he picked one from her wishlist but she had no CLUE about it!). Some of Jordan’s close friends came by to wish them well and Mr. Rusty and Mrs. Charlotte left to drive home. We ended up staying up until 1 visiting with Jordan’s family, friends, and talking wedding!
The Brides Book of Etiquette
was my BIBLE while planning and I know it’ll help Casey too!
Zach and I slept in one of the Bacon’s (yes, Casey will be Mrs. Casey Bacon!) extra rooms and enjoyed sleeping “in” until almost 9:00 🙂 We left Casey and Jordan to enjoy spending time with his parents and decided to use our day up in the Atlanta area to try to find somethings we are still needing for the house. We had actually talked about doing a day trip to go shopping but this worked out even better since we were already up there! I’m SO glad we didn’t do a day trip because we had horrible shopping luck.
Started the day at McDonald’s and Blitzen was THIRSTY! I had three drinks!
We went to Garden Ridge and didn’t buy a thing then we went to Ikea and spent the least we’ve ever spent there. We did find a rug for our kitchen for only $20 which was a steal but other than that the day was a pretty big waste. Of course we had a great time together though!
Zach was pumped to get out of Ikea so cheaply
We enjoyed walking around Atlantic Station a bit but decided to skip eating out for lunch and instead head home so we could go to night worship services at Lakeland with all the family. Mrs. Charlotte got Kye from Mom’s and had him with her and we actually ended up just spending the night at The Parker’s! We never do stuff like that but the dogs were at the kennel till Monday and we were exhausted. Plus I totally wanted to talk more wedding stuff with Casey 🙂 It was a fun time the four of us (Mrs. Charlotte, Courtney, Casey and I) huddled around bridal magazines at the kitchen table!
I am SO happy for Casey and Jordan and BEYOND honored to get to be part of such a special event. We are so proud for Casey to be marrying such a great Christian guy (you can read all about his baptism here!). And Zach is excited for his little bromance to continue and become legit brothers 😉 Those of you that know Casey can now start bugging her to write her version of this story so you can have all the romantic details!!!
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No picture of the RING?!!!!
Rachael_Copponex I know for real!!! I don't even know if she has one on her camera for her post!!!! we need to take one for sure 😉
Which of the 6 is it in the picture from your old post in the lineup?
the one on the far left! hard to tell in the picture but it's square cut with diamonds around it and around the sides and down the band too. of course he got the most expensive one she had on her list haha looks like he'll be spoiling her like Greg does you 😉
So it looks similar to yours? 🙂 I can't WAIT to wear my ring and watch again!