One beautiful Saturday in October my now-husband Ben surprised me with a trip to historic Charleston, South Carolina.
Exactly one year earlier, Ben had taken me for dinner at High Cotton, a chic southern restaurant in the downtown of my hometown, Greenville, SC. After dinner and a concert, we took a long walk in the park, sat on a particularly lovely and romantic wooden swing, and decided we'd like to stay together forever. That night Ben gave me a single pink rose. After arriving home, 11 more pink roses were waiting in the kitchen.
A year later we decided to celebrate that day. I jumped in the car expecting to end up a great local coffee shop, and after being on the road awhile realized we were going in the opposite direction, and then that we'd be driving about two more hours because our destination was Charleston. Needless to say I was very surprised!
The original High Cotton happens to be in Charleston, and so after spending the day exploring the city, we went there for dinner. Everything was perfect—seafood, sweet tea, candlelight, bamboo ceiling fans all moving in synchronization. A single red rose and a note from Ben were waiting at our table, just for me.
After dinner, a bike taxi was outside to take us to the park along the water. Dusk fell over the city as we rode along, arriving at the water just in time for sunset. We walked along the ocean watching the orange sky fade and the lights twinkle on in the houses along the waterfront. As the last light fell, we made our way up to a beautiful white gazebo. In the center of the gazebo, Ben leaned over and said softly, "This has been a perfect day. But it's not over yet. There's one more thing I'd like to do." And he got down on one knee, took my hand, pulled out a sparkling diamond ring, and asked me to marry him.
When I arrived back at my house, still carrying my red rose from dinner, 24 more red roses were waiting in the kitchen.
We've been happily married for 2 and a half years now, and are returning to Charleston to celebrate our first anniversary.
--Elizabeth Blanton
Yellow Elm Blog
♥
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