We inquired a while back on social media wanting to hear
couples’ “I do” stories from getting engaged here. And you gave us plenty of
gems to share. With Valentine’s Day just two weeks from today, we’re setting
the table with a little romance and sharing some of your engagement stories.
Read a little further down, and we’re sharing the stories as they were
submitted. But first, let’s hear a little more about a couple of these special
stories that will forever be linked to French Lick Resort.
There’s plenty of great tales to tell, so we’re saving a few
for next week. In the second installment, we’ll expand on a more quintessential
fairy-tale engagement. First, we’ll hear about an engagement that was almost a
break-up. (Or so she thought.)
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| Sally & Jeff Doyle |
Sally & Jeff Doyle
Sally was certain the end had arrived.
She and Jeff had been dating about seven months. And sure,
the weekend had been great: they got a picturesque balcony room at West Baden
overlooking the atrium and spent Saturday night at the winery, out to dinner,
roaming the casino and strolling through French Lick Springs Hotel.
But right before they were ready to leave on Sunday, Sally’s
intuition sensed something amiss.
“We were getting ready to leave and had to check out pretty
soon, so he was up against a time restraint. He leads me out onto the balcony
and I thought, ‘Well, here we go, he’s breaking up with me. What an odd place
to break up!’”
Not exactly the message that Jeff had planned when he got
down on one knee.
“Honestly I don’t even really remember what he said, other
than the way he was telling me how he was preparing this proposal speech to me.
I just thought, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s going to let me down easy here. He’s telling
me that everything’s been great, but … I’m breaking up with you.
“He didn’t do that at all. He proposed.”
Sally might have been sniffed out the proposal scent,
considering the timing of their courtship was unconventional at times.
Jeff had originally planned on proposing Saturday night instead
of in a rush on Sunday, because “we were just having such fun, it didn’t fit
into the night as well as he thought,” said Sally. And she never had a clue he’d
been out shopping for a ring and planning a proposal.
And rewind to four years earlier, when Jeff and Sally were
originally set up by their co-workers. “We still laugh, because the blind date
was terrible,” Sally said. A few years went by, then they randomly bumped into
each other again at a restaurant in their hometown of Washington, Indiana. Jeff
asked for her number. She figured he’d never call.
But he did, and it was the first of a few surprises all
leading up to the moment on the balcony that Sally never saw coming.
“To this day, he still just shakes his head” when the story
is brought up, said Sally, who married Jeff the following fall in 2011; they’re
now busy raising their 5-year-old daughter. “He’s just shocked that I thought
he was going to break up with me. He’s still just shocked by that fact. And I
was like, ‘I did think that.’ I was just so shocked by the proposal and the
secret, how he kept it all a secret from me.”
Read more below to hear about guests' engagement stories in their own words. You can script your own romantic tale by spending Valentine's Day at French Lick Resort, and click here to learn more.
“There has always been something that seemed so magical about West Baden Springs Hotel. The hotel has always been a favorite destination of mine, but the most beautiful parts to me are the gardens and the decorations and lights around Christmas time. Each year, my Christmas season is not complete without a visit to the grounds to see the Christmas tree in the Dome, the lights and the decorations.
“On July 20, 2014 my husband, Ben, proposed to me at West Baden! We attended mass at Our Lady of the Springs Catholic Church, took a carriage ride around the West Baden grounds, walked around the gardens where Ben handed me 10 roses (as we were dating 10 months) with special memories attached, solved a crossword he created stating “the next chapter begins” and then walked around the corner to see both of our families there and a pile of rose petals on the ground! Ben asked me to marry him! Celebrated at Sinclair’s afterwards for lunch! Best day of my life and that place holds many memories for us!”
Kendall Humbert & Clint Renner
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| Kendall Humbert & Clint Renner |
December 23, 2015, I was planning to go to a Christmas party with friends; however my boyfriend, Clint, had other plans. He insisted that we go to French Lick because he needed a steak from 33 Brick Street for dinner. In an attempt to convince me, he told me that he would make my trip worthwhile by taking me to the West Baden hotel to see the Christmas lights. Annoyed that I was going to miss the Christmas party with my friends, I gave in.
Fast-forward to after our dinner, it was freezing rain and about 28 degrees. As we drove up the beautiful brick drive to the hotel, Clint pointed out how beautiful the lights looked in the garden. After parking he took my hand and tried to lead me to the garden. I was starting to become more and more annoyed because I was freezing and getting rained on but nothing could deter Clint from getting to that garden!
We walked out into the soggy grass between the beautiful lighted angels and Clint got down on one knee. Suddenly this irritating night became the best night of my life when Clint asked me to be his wife!
Little did I know that he had been planning this for weeks and was thoughtful enough to have his friends, Sean and Natasha at Brescher Filming and Photography, hide and capture this amazing moment in our lives at the most beautiful location!”
Ashley & Ben Gessner
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| Ashley & Ben Gessner |
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| Casey & Shawn Jecker |
Casey & Shawn Jecker
“I had never been to West Baden before Shawn and I started dating. One of our first Christmases together we went for the day to look at the lights and decorations. We spent most of the day playing checkers and chess in the dome. We then made it a tradition to go spend the day every Christmas. This one particular Christmas he suggested we take a picture in front of the tree. As we were attempting to take selfies he started to almost shake, and before I knew it he was down on one knee. Little did I know there was also a secret photographer. Two years later, we are married and still visit West Baden frequently. We even got our engagement photos taken out in the sunken gardens.”
Mackenzie Shumaker & Brayden Alward
“One of our first dates was to French Lick Resort. We
explored the hotel, relaxed on the beautiful porch, and of course, stopped for
ice cream. (That's always a favorite for both of us!) Now, fast-forward two
years — for weeks we had been planning a weekend getaway with two of our
favorite friends. The weekend finally arrived, we again, explored the
hotel, ate delicious meals, and stopped for ice cream. Looking back it was so
similar to that first visit we had there together — I didn't catch on! We went
to dinner that night and Brayden was kicking his leg against the back of the
chair really fast. I asked, 'Are you nervous about something over
there?' Still completely oblivious to the fact that he was in fact completely
nervous — he played it off like nothing! Everyone at the table just looked
at me in shock and quickly changed the subject. After dinner, we went out to
walk through the wonderful Christmas light displays in the gardens outside of
West Baden. Our best friend, and photographer for ASmith Studio, was with us. She
had her big camera with her and told us to stand together so she could shoot a
couple of pictures of us. Happily agreeing, she posed us a couple of times, and
to my great surprise when I turned around after one of the pictures, my now
fiance was down on one knee asking me to spend forever with him. I've never
been happier to say 'yes!' What a wonderful day it was! We are
so thankful for the memories we have at French Lick and look forward to making
many more in the future!