Here at #Black Southern Belle, we live for love and all things southern. This proposal story gives us that and soooo much more. Morey and Durant Bridges are one of the cutest couples we have yet to feature. And instead of doing our traditional story, we have the story of the proposal, line by line from the bride herself.
This story is full of love, surprise, friendship and commitment and not to mention a groom that deserves a serious round of applause. Start of your Monday with some inspiration and learn more about the proposal story of Morey and Durant, a Tennessee romance with all of the bells and whistles and planes 😉
XOXO
Michiel
SOUTHERN LOVE AS TOLD BY THE BRIDE
It was Friday March 14, 2014 around 1:15 and my phone rang. It was Durant, “Baby, I need you to do something for me.” I answered “Sure, what’s up?” Durant responded asking me to meet him in Bowling Green. I screeched “Bowling Green, KENTUCKY?!” As if it were only a ten minute drive, he answered “yes”. I spent the next five minutes trying to figure out why I needed to drive to Kentucky. Begging for answers was getting me nowhere. So, I headed up I65 in the direction of Bowling Green, KY.
During the hour long drive, I called a few of my friends to pass the time. Liz told me all about her new promotion, and Whitney and I continued a funny conversation from the day before. Ironically, part of that conversation involved wondering when our boyfriends would make “honest women” of us.
Before I knew it, I saw signs indicating that Bowling Green was only a few miles away. I called Durant, and he told me to exit the highway at the fourth Bowling Green exit. Never being good with directions I lost count and exited at the second Bowling Green exit instead. I pulled into the first gas station, and called Durant with an update on my location. Using his best judgment, he asked me to sit still –he would come to me. I sat in my car and looked around as I wondered what he was up to this time. For my Birthday (four months earlier) I was tricked into an awesome surprise vacation to San Francisco.
Ironically, I had accidentally exited the highway on a street named “Lover’s Lane”. Durant found me and instructed me to follow him. I trailed him down Lover’s Lane and eventually onto a main road in Bowling Green. “What in the world is this man up to” I thought as we pulled into a Home Depot parking lot. There had to have been at least 10 Home Depot locations between Nashville and Bowling Green! We both parked our cars and he told me to get into his car.
I got into his car and he started driving. For the first thirty minutes, I continually asked “Where are we going??” His answer “What, you don’t want to hang out with me baby?” He was so cool about it. I remember thinking how extremely handsome he looked while he enjoyed knowing something that I did not. Eventually, I decided to sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery as we headed towards wherever we were going. There are so many cows in Kentucky!
Two hours later, we pulled up to 21C. It is a beautifully restored hotel that doubles as a museum with rotating contemporary collections. “Welcome back, Mr. Bridges” the valet said with a smile. I started up again, “Welcome BACK –why is he saying welcome back?” Before I could dig any deeper, the hotel staff took my bag and we were led down to the bottom floor of the building. I thought we were being led on a museum tour. Wrong! We were led through an invisible door hidden inside a full room mural piece. On the other side of the hidden door was the hotel spa. Amazing! We enjoyed full body massages. I remember thinking it was one of the best massages I had ever experienced.
After our massages, we sat in the sauna and drank water just long enough for roots of my hair to remain straightened. Then, we were escorted through the hotel gym to the elevator. I followed Durant up to room 202. The cutest most-modern room! Because I travel a great deal for work, I am extremely picky about hotels. Durant made sure we were in a nice and clean hotel. Not to mention, there were strawberries and champagne waiting on us.
Durant interrupted my inspection of the room “We have dinner reservations in 30 minutes downstairs.” Immediately, I was horrified because I was wearing sweat pants and a bright pink Spelman t-shirt which was starting to feel the side-effects of my mysterious ride an hour earlier. He walked over to the other side of the room to a big box. Nosily, I rushed over to the box. Inside the box was Christmas! It was filled with clothing…all in my size. Dresses, shoes, jeans, shirts and anything else I needed was in that box. Durant is so sweet!
After trying on all of the dresses, I settled on one and we headed downstairs twenty minutes late for our dinner reservation. I’m sorry…. You cannot give a woman a box full of new clothing and expect her to be on time anywhere. When we got to the restaurant, Durant said that he’d left his wallet upstairs. While he went up for his wallet, I examined the restaurant attached to 21C –Proof on Main. Proof was designed like a museum in itself. Along with magazine articles praising the food, paintings and sculptures lined the walls and ceilings. It was an extravagantly designed restaurant, and I was starving.
During dinner, we discussed the art in the room and enjoyed the most amazing cocktails and food. We shared scallops, salmon, greens, goat cheese grits and truffle fries. Fries have happened during most of our dates, including our first date –two years and 5 months earlier. Before leaving Proof on Main, Durant suggested that we change clothes and get ready for a night out in Louisville.
When we got back to room 202, Durant opened the door and immediately turned the lights off. Before I could comment on that random action, he took my hand and led me over to the other side of the room. That’s when I saw it. Spelled out on the floor in glow-in-the-dark marbles were the words “Marry Me”. He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him while saying the most romantic things about me, our relationship and how he had to stalk my daddy to ask for my hand in marriage.
That’s when I saw THE RING!! Instantly, I fell in love with the most life-changing piece of jewelry I would ever receive. A marquis cut solitaire designed by Mr. Durant Bridges himself. Interrupting my excitement, he reminded me that I had not answered his proposal. I screeched “YES!!”
He let me call/text my family, closest friends and line sisters. I’ve never been so excited in my life. The most interesting, authentic, caring, sincere, loving and amazing human being I have ever met had just asked me to be his wife.
About 30 minutes later, we began to settle down from engagement excitement. He looked at me and said “Our engagement photo shoot is tomorrow. The photographer will be here at 1 pm.” Omg, my boyfriend – correction, fiancé literally thought of everything!
The next morning, we hurriedly crossed a haircut, a nail appointment and a visit to the MAC counter off of our pre-engagement photo shoot to-do list. The photographer met us at 21C and we posed through three setting and outfit changes. Durant told me that we would end the shoot at a historic aviation museum in Louisville. I thought that was cool because airplanes are a big part of his life. I loved that we would include something he loved into our engagement pictures.
We got in the car and headed towards the aviation museum to conclude our photo shoot. However, we did not stop there. We passed the museum and ended up parking at a private airport. I learned that we would finish shooting with an airplane as a prop. It was a blast playfully posing by the plane. Our photographer left and my new fiancé safely buckled me into the passenger seat of the airplane. Durant hopped in the pilot’s seat and took me flying for the first time.
FULL GALLERY
Beautiful marriage proposal. When are we going to see the wedding pictures?
Author
Wedding is published here: https://michielbp.wpengine.com/bridges-all-over-the-world-the-wedding/