SCOUT + ZACH

photo | Fulleylove Photography

SCOUT + ZACH

Their proposal is from the groom’s hilarious point of view 

From the groom: Knowing Scout since high school has been one of the biggest blessings in our relationship. In getting to know Scout though, I understood that getting a proposal past her, and 100% pulling off the most important surprise, was going to be quite the challenge. I figured utilizing my birthday weekend as a distraction would be my best bet. I knew Scout would be focused on making sure I had the best birthday possible (as she always does) and that would then keep her mind off what my true intentions would be that evening. In the weeks leading up to my birthday weekend, I started dropping subtle hints in hopes of setting my plan in motion. I told Scout that all I wanted for my birthday was to have both of us dress up and go out for a nice dinner. Scout and I stay quite busy in the world of healthcare, so getting the opportunity to dress up comes few and far between for us. Scout loved the idea of a nice dinner and was going to make sure she found the right place for us. Perfect. Step 1 complete. 

The next step in my plan was making sure I had some assistance in order to capture the big moment. I reached out to my mom and sister, who were just as excited as I was to help make my vision for the evening come to fruition. Again, being with Scout over the past eight years meant that we had plenty of special moments that we’ve shared together. I wanted big moments from each of these years together represented at the proposal site. So I had my mother and sister set up everything and they would wait in the wings for my call once we were finished with dinner. Step 2 complete. 

The week leading up to my birthday weekend dinner passed without any hiccups. By now I was getting extremely nervous having the engagement ring in my possession, along with trying to find the right words to throw Scout off as to why we would not be going straight home after dinner. I figured the best way to throw her off was to play into one of my weaknesses: ice cream. Scout knows I love ice cream and that I would never say no to going for dessert after dinner. So I had my sister call us to suggest a “new ice cream place” she had heard about that we should visit after dinner. Step 3 complete. 

Step 4 was not as easy. My first heart attack on the day of the proposal came that morning when at breakfast Scout mentioned that she didn’t have anything to wear for dinner tonight. Now knowing Scout, this is not an uncommon comment for her to make. But why this comment today? As many things as I thought I had gotten past her in planning this proposal, did she know all along? I tried to gently suggest to Scout that she had plenty of nice outfits to wear, but she insisted on going shopping for an outfit for the night. Scout left that morning to go shopping, leaving me with nothing but nervous thoughts! But having Scout out of the house also gave me the opportunity to call everyone involved in the evening to lay out the plan. Time went by and as Scout returned home from shopping, she let me know that she had only been able to find a top, not a complete outfit. As Scout started to lay out her outfit for the evening, she went through a few options before deciding on a nice pair of flowy white pants (perfect for a proposal!), but she ultimately did not want to wear them because they weren’t ironed. Before I could even think, I suggested to her that I would iron them for her while she got ready. Now this was NOT common for me to do, so my heart was racing awaiting her reply. Did I just ruin my own plan? Would she suspect something was up? Luckily I think she was more worried about getting ready than reading into why I suggested ironing the pants for her. Haha. The rest of that afternoon leading up to dinner went by smoothly. Step 4 complete. 

Dinner was perfect. We tried out a new venue that neither of us had been to before (State of Grace) and it turned out to be a great choice. The food was delicious and the drinks were smooth. Scout and I often reflect on life together as the years go by, so we normally find ourselves talking about the blessings of the year and our hopes for the upcoming ones. My 25th year of life brought huge accomplishments in my professional growth. I had recently graduated with my Doctorate in Physical Therapy and been accepted into a top tier Sports Medicine Residency program through Memorial Hermann. So when Scout asked me what I was looking forward to the most going into my 26th year of life, I confidently told her that completing my residency program would be at the top of my list. Scout jokingly responded with “Oh, not proposing to me?!” I chuckled at her response, reassuring her that yes of course that too would be one of the most important events of my upcoming year (little did she know that a proposal was coming in the final day of my 25th year!). So as dinner was winding down, I excused myself to the restroom in order to call my sister and mother to put the plan into motion. Dinner had been a success. The proposal was a go. Step 5 complete. 

As Scout and I were walking out to our car after dinner, the next heart attack started brewing. Getting into the car, Scout asked if we could just stop at our usual ice cream spot on the way back home (one that was two minutes from our house) instead of driving out of our way to try something new. I proceeded to tell Scout that I really wanted to try this “new place,” especially since it was a birthday treat. Scout reluctantly agreed to go. I took that as a win. Step 6 complete.

Arriving into the area of the “new ice cream spot” proved to be stress-free. No questions of “where are we going?”, “what is the name of this place?” or “how far away are we?” However, upon arriving at the location and as I was getting out of the car, Scout hit me with a “I don’t really feel like getting ice cream. I’ll just wait in the car until you get back.” Great. Crash and burn. Literally feet from where we needed to be and my plan starts falling apart. How romantic is it going to be with a parking garage proposal. Ha! I had to dig deep. I was not letting the night end here. I begged Scout to go with me and after a little sigh and some disdain in her “okay” she finally (and willingly!) got out of the car. Step 7 complete. 

When I say the weight of the world was lifted off of me on that walk towards the proposal sight, that is no exaggeration. Everything had gone according to plan and I knew that Scout had no idea. As we were walking towards the “ice cream spot” (aka the Houston Waterwall Park), Scout had gotten a few steps ahead of me when all of a sudden she stopped dead in her tracks. “Zach… Why is there a picture of us up there?” Scout had made it far enough ahead of me to see around the side part of the waterwall instead of the entrance to where we were supposed to go through (of course not everything could have been perfect haha). As the remaining seven pictures came into view, Scout immediately burst into tears upon the realization of what was about to happen. The Houston Waterwall is a public venue, but as I walked Scout out into the center of the wall, the crowd noticed what was taking place and to my surprise, everyone stepped back which allowed Scout and I to be alone in the center of the waterwall. Scout doesn’t remember a single word I said from then on out. I gave the most amazing speech (if I do say so myself) of the reasons I fell in love with her, why I wanted to marry her, and why I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. After getting down on one knee, SHE SAID YES followed by cheers and applause from the crowd! SUCCESS!!! WE ARE ENGAGED and step 8 was complete! 

We were then greeted by my mother and sister offering us our first congratulations. As we made our way back to the car, I couldn’t help but tease Scout with all the moments she almost threw a hiccup into the proposal story. The drive home was spent in awe and wonder of how I had just pulled off the surprise of a lifetime without her having any idea, but the surprises didn’t stop there. Pulling into our home, Scout began to recognize a few of the vehicles parked outside. “Wait is that my mom and dad’s car?” “Is that your mom’s car?” I couldn’t help but have the biggest grin on my face when telling Scout there was one more surprise. Waiting for us inside the house was all of our family members, greeting us with cheers and celebrations. A day I will never forget filled with twists and turns that we can look back on and laugh about for the rest of our lives. But ultimately all that mattered, was Scout said yes and is now officially #JOININGTHEJACOBS!