Kim & John’s Engagement

This was definitely one to remember. It involved a couple of road trips, a scenic round trip around Ballyvaughan, twice(thanks Google), a storm, an emergency visit to Dunnes Stores in Galway, a last minute stop at Scottys Steakhouse, a whole load of roads I’ve never been on before and may never be on again, a ring emergency, a last minute location change due to a previous storm wreaking havoc on my navigation abilities, some panicy whatsapp messages, Marvin Gaye’s Sexual Healing(amongst some other esteemed artists, The Civil Wars being chosen for the big moment), a puzzled German, a long walk, a car park, a pretty damn sturdy light stand, some red smoke and one AMAZING couple!!!!

It all began with a scouting mission by John(for the remainder of this I'm going to call him Doody) and I. We knew we were aiming for the Cliffs Of Moher, but because the Cliffs Of Moher are pretty large and rather long we just didn't know where exactly on the Cliffs Of Moher the proposal was going to happen. We picked a day when we were both free(obviously, I know), that just so happened to be during a storm.

Fueled up with black pudding sausage rolls and breakfast rolls, we set off for the Cliffs Of Moher. The road trip soundtrack was absolutely on fire, Tom Petty, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The National, Foo Fighters, etc. We got to the Cliffs in pretty good time too.

Navigating the Cliffs was an absolute nightmare, it had been raining pretty heavy, it was still raining when we got there and the wind wasn't exactly calm. Every single step on the Cliff edge was a challenge, just pure slippery mud with absolutely no grip. Eventually we reached a spot that we thought would be perfect, we planned for that spot and decided to head back to the car before it got dark. It had taken us so long to get to the original spot that it felt like we had walked a lot further, this caused a navigational miscalculation on the day of the actual proposal.

On the way back to the car I slipped in the mud, while this was, even in my own estimate, hilarious, it also meant that I was now covered in mud and without a change in clothes. It was getting quite late and we were both soaked and I was muddy so we checked Google for a clothes shop, Dunnes Stores in Galway to the rescue, they seemed to be the only clothes shop open!!!

Heading through Ballyvaughan on the way to Galway and Google Maps decided to have a brain fart at a junction which sent us on an eerie round trip around Ballyvaughan again, almost like Ballyvaughan never wanted us to leave.

We finished off the scouting mission with a couple other potential proposal locations in Galway City which turned out to be non runners. As the black pudding sausage rolls began to lose their efficacy I made a call to Scottys Steakhouse and booked us a table. With only minutes to get there before they closed for the night we legged it to the car. The best grub in Galway went down a treat and then it was hometime.

Next up was the day of the proposal, but wait, there was no ring!!! There may not have been a ring, but there was hope. Doody was busy in Galway wining and dining Kim while the ring had not yet been delivered. The hope was that it would arrive on the morning of the proposal and it did, just in the nick of time. So Doody and Kim were in Galway and the ring was in Kilkenny, I took a quick detour via Kilkenny on my way to the Cliffs and met Doodys aunt Lily to collect the game ball(the ring, we had a whole football related secret word thing going on).

I arrived at the Cliffs with loads of time to spare so I set out to find my spot. The weather was a lot better than our previous visit and it was so much easier to walk. It turns out that I walked right past the original spot without even noticing because it was that much easier to walk and I expected to have to move much further. I did eventually stumble on a spot that was actually better, less people, less mud and much better view so it did all work out but I had to fill Doody in on the new plan. I sent him pictures on whatsapp with directions on what to do when he got there and where I placed the ring and then checked frantically every few minutes to make sure he got them.

Once he was fully up to date on the new plan all I had to do was sit in my nook and wait. I brought my binoculars which I picked up for Orla & James engagement so it was easy to keep an eye out for the big arrival and I had a bluetooth speaker set up ready to play their song, "Tip Of My Tongue" by The Civil Wars.

When they arrived, Doody brought Kim towards the edge and left her to find the ring, I think I did a pretty good job leaving it in an accessible yet secure location so it didn't take him long at all to find it. He moved swiftly back to Kim and dropped to one knee, I could see the puppy dog eyes from where I was shooting and the rest is history!!