September 7, 2023
We arrived at the Cliffs of Moher a bit before 6 in the evening on September 7th, 2023. According to the radio host we listened to on the drive over, the 80°F high today was a ‘scorcher’ for Ireland. ‘Scorchers’ are relative of course, so I thought my Texan-heat acclimatized self would make the walk to my chosen proposal spot easily.
After parking, we walked to O’Brien’s tower, skipping the visitor’s centre entirely. Once at the tower, I realized that I was early, so I feigned exhaustion and asked that we sit on the steps of the tower to rest. I filled the time with photographing Brooke and sneakily looking into the distance for the aforementioned proposal spot (further than I expected). Once it was time, I led Brooke on what turned into a twenty minute walk along the edge of the cliffs.
The walk was pleasant, though bugs and sweat did start to bother. Brooke followed me with only a few small complaints about the bugs and purpose of this walk (a lot less complaints than I definitely would have made, had the roles been reversed). Finally, we arrived and I started taking pictures of Brooke. But I wanted a picture of the both of us! Luckily, there was a landscape photographer close by, so I asked her to take our photo. After having a photo taken of us, I said that I wanted to swap out my sunglasses for my regular glasses. This next part has become smushed and blurred together in my head, so bear with me. I reached into my bag and pulled out the ring box, knelt and got Brooke’s attention. The evening sun behind Brooke made her glow. She said yes and we got the ring onto her finger. After a hug and a kiss, I turned to the landscape photographer and introduced her to Brooke.
She said yes!The planning
July 11, 2023. 11:53am
Christine got back to me! I had emailed Christine a few days before inquiring about a possible engagement photoshoot at the Cliffs of Moher. I stumbled on Christine’s website while planning our trip to Ireland in September. I was enamored by the views from the cliffs and I felt like my and Brooke’s first big solo adventure was a perfect time to ask her to be by my side for life. From the start, Christine made me feel at ease. She was helpful and meticulous in ensuring that everything went according to plan. After a long email thread back and forth, we made decisions. September 7th was plan A, with the 8th serving as a plan B in case weather got in the way.
After settling on a general area north of O’Brien’s tower, Christine helped me nail down the exact spot of the proposal. Examples of proposals at different locations were very helpful, and the spot we landed on was gorgeous during sunset. Sweeping grass below, dramatic cliffs behind, the glow of the evening sun from the right, it all came together to paint a surreal picture.
We decided on the teensy orange arrowThe execution… of the plan
September 7, 2023. 4:00pm
I was freaking the fuck out. No one told me Ireland would be a ‘scorcher’ while we were here, so I haven’t been able to wear any of the sweaters I brought. The outfit I planned to propose in was a no-go. I eventually landed on wearing an H&M shirt I bought on the first day of our trip in Dublin. I bought it because I was sweating through my sweater and we were far from our hotel. I try my best to avoid fast fashion and I ended up proposing in a last-on-the-rack tan H&M tee shirt. I wore an over shirt too, but it was more useful as a sweat rag to keep from sweating through my tee. Whatever, just go with it.
6:15. O’Brien’s tower. Polka-dot shorts. Make eye contact with Christine and nod. Walk to spot.
6:00pm
I was worried we were late (we were early), so I insisted we skip the visitor’s centre (I love visitor centres, especially if they’re spelled ‘centre’ instead of ‘center’, so skipping this hurt). We walked up to O’Brien’s tower where we were ten minutes early, so I told Brooke that I wanted to rest for a bit. After catching my breath for ten minutes, I spotted the polka-dot shorts and watched Christine slowly make her way to the tower. As she passed in front of us, I made eye contact and subtly nodded. She nodded back. Very much felt like a spy making a drop or something. I reallllly wanted some photos of us from wayyyyyy over there, so I convinced Brooke to walk with me to a faraway grassy spot.
The walk was easy enough (disregarding bugs and sweat) and I was able to spot Christine following us at a distance far enough away to not raise any suspicion. Once at the spot, I started taking pictures of Brooke until I saw Christine pass behind us and pretend to take pictures of the view. At this point I asked her to take our photo and, well, you know the next part.
6:30-8:30pm
The next two hours felt like a dream. An older man in a tuxedo gave us champagne, I whispered sweet nothings into Brooke’s ear while Christine posed us, bugs flew into our ears, cows mooed.
❤️