My brother is engaged!! It’s so crazy to type those words but my whole family is overjoyed about this! A few weeks ago, my younger brother, John Paul, proposed to Kaleena in the midst of a crazy snow storm. He is the first one in my family to get married and so as you can imagine, this is a pretty big deal for all of us.

Originally, John Paul had a different location in mind for the proposal but the crazy snow storm meant that location was impossible to reach. Thankfully we had talked about going to a park in Cadiz, Ohio as a back up plan. Since this was the back up location, John Paul and I hadn’t actually gone to scout out exactly where the proposal would take place so it was a bit of a wing it situation haha. But it worked out perfectly and the snow falling thickly around them made for the most magical setting.

These two are so perfect for each other and it has been so fun getting to know Kaleena and see how she makes my brother a better man (and vice versa). Their wedding will be such a joyous occasion and the highlight of this year for sure!

My family drove in for the weekend to celebrate and while I was out with John Paul and Kaleena for the proposal, they transformed my downstairs into a beautiful engagement party. My youngest sister, Lucy, brought a wedding planning binder for Kaleena, complete with hand drawn pictures of various options for dresses, cakes, bridesmaids colors, and flowers. 😂 Halfway through the party, my power went out due to the storm and so we ended the night wrapped in lots of blankets and surrounded by cozy candlelight. I joke that no one can tease me for my obsession with throw blankets and candles anymore because they saved the day with the power outage! Haha!

Just missing my sister Cecilia who currently lives in Texas:

A few days later John Paul, Kaleena and I drove out closer to his original proposal location to take some more engagement photos at the most amazing Narnian-esque setting we had seen just off the side of the road. The sun decided to make an appearance for these photos which made the location even better.

A really special detail about Kaleena’s ring is that John Paul had her ring custom made with the large center diamond coming from her grandmother’s engagement ring, and the smaller diamonds coming from our grandmother’s anniversary ring. How cool is it that her ring is already a beautiful symbol of our two families joining together?

John Paul and Kaleena, I am so happy for you both and so grateful God has brought you two together! I love you both!!

Xoxo,
Mary Kate