The Festive Life

Being born and raised in Michigan certainly has conditioned us for a winter full of snow, pleasant family gatherings, and of course LIGHTS! And, while temperatures in South Carolina were low enough to put frost on our cars this morning, it still warms up to the 70s even into December! Well, that didn't stop us from checking out the James Island County Park Festival of Lights in Charleston a couple of weeks ago. For over 3 miles, cars were at a stop-and-go as gawkers were awed by a marvelous display of locally-sponsored lights separated into traditional holiday themes as well as some more non-denominational inspirations. Since moving to the Low Country in May, We've heard a lot of hype about the Festival of Lights and our first impression absolutely lived up to our expectations!

Now, I know what you're thinking. Brian, what about the Christmas displays along Lakeshore in Grosse Pointe? Brian, surely you're forgetting the Wesner house on Irval Drive in Sterling Heights! Brian, it's just not the same - where's the snow?!! Well, while I will never forget any of that, what made the Festival of Lights such a memorable experience was a little thing called spontaneity.

In a spur of the moment decision, I took Alyssa to James Island County Park for a drive-by light display. As we slowly passed a splendiferous show of snowmen, penguins, spacemen, and comets, one thought passed through my head - "When?" As we approached an awesome array of bridges, angels, candycanes, and reindeer, one idea approached the forefront of my brain - "Where?" And as we drove by some beautiful beams of sharks, fishermen, and Stars and Stripes, one intention kept me driven - "How?"

We finally arrived at the end of the Festival of Lights and I parked the car on the side of the road directly in front of a HUGE "Happy New Year" layout. I said to Alyssa, "Let's do something crazy" and she took that as my cue to exit the vehicle. I allowed her to pass in front of me towards the sign while I searched my phone for a particular song to play. She turned to me as the familiar drum beat reached her ears. Then the soft, melodic guitar came on and we joined in a hug to begin dancing. The singer began - "Maybe it's intuition. Some things you just don't question" - I parted from my love with the sweetest of objectives - "Like in your eyes, I see my future in an instant" - I put my left foot forward and my right knee on the cooling blades of grass below - "And there it goes, I think I found my best friend" - Still holding my phone in one hand, I grasped a lonely box in my pocket with the other - "I know that it might sound more than a little crazy but I believe" - She already covered her mouth with both hands in disbelief. I opened the box and asked her, "Would you be my future wife? Would you marry me?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" she shouted. "YES!! YESS!! YUSSSS!!!" she added as she ran back to me for the closest, tightest hug we've ever shared at that point. The chorus "I knew I loved you before I met you" played on, agreeably the most appropriate song considering the back story of our relationship. And I stood to collect her even closer with no awareness of our surroundings. Apparently, several cars had passed us, some honking in anger because we were blocking the pretty lights. But, more importantly, a white SUV parked almost directly behind my car whose occupants witnessed the entire moment! We were congratulated immediately by on-lookers Jason and Angela Woolfe with their two children in the back seat. They managed to capture the romantic event and, after an exchange of contact info, forwarded them to us.









We thanked the Woolfe's endlessly and wished them happy holidays as we got back into the car and drove off towards our future together (and towards some amazing authentic Italian cuisine complete with wonderful, complimentary wine!).

Alyssa and Brian are engaged! We want to thank everyone for their love and support as well as their patience while we make our decisions regarding a date, planning, etc..

Bookmark our blog and stay surfed for more updates to come including a post about moving into our new house and I'll remind you never to let me babysit your garden.. What the hell happened to my tomato plant?! Poor thing..

This is Life in the Lowcountry.