We’re engaged!

Audrey — Mon, 22 May 2006 23:43:11 +0000

We’re back from Portugal and here’s our engagement announcement:

Dearest friends & family,

As some of you may’ve heard by now, Matt and I wanted to let you know that we’ve just returned from our trip to Portugal—and while we were over there, we GOT ENGAGED!! We’re extremely excited and eager to start our new life together.

Details, details, details…May 11^th: We had just left Lisbon to stay at the uber-romantic Fortaleza do Guincho (our “fortress by the sea”) in Cascais. Little did I know that Matt had been carrying and guarding the ring with him on this trip the whole time. We had been traveling with our NYC friends, Debbie & Saevar, and had just finished eating dinner and getting drinks in Cascais with them. Once back at the hotel, Matt tried to get me to take a nice moonlit walk with him on the beach since there was a full moon and it would be the perfect setting—what he didn’t know was that the Guincho Beach is also often the host of the World Windsurfing Championships and gets extremely windy, particularly at night. I, completely clueless, totally dismissed the idea because it was dark, windy and cold as a result. Okay, Plan B. Matt then decides to propose on the balcony in the room, since it faces the water & the beach and can still capture the moment. He pours some port wine and suggests stepping out onto the balcony, perhaps with some candles. I, still clueless, respond by saying “why can’t we just turn the lights on?”. (heh heh, I was being difficult) Eventually, we step out onto the balcony but I’m shaking a bit from the wind that’s blowing onto the balcony and end up spilling port everywhere while Matt starts mumbling something about his love for me. (again, I’m totally clueless) I go back inside the room to clean off the port and finally return to the balcony when Matt then pops the question. Still clueless and completely shocked, my first reaction, looking at the ring, is “What’s that?”. Soon after, after truly realizing that this was indeed a proposal, I blurt out a huge “YES!”

Looking ahead, we’ve had some conversations about dates, places, etc. but nothing is set in stone—so look out for updates!

All the best,

Matt and Audrey

Matt & Audrey's Wedding » Engagement

We’re engaged!