Engaged + Married Same Day Not Every Girls Dream

There is an incredibly sweet proposal video going viral online where Ryan Leak made his girlfriend of five years' dream come true. Amanda Roman had dreamed of getting engaged and married on the same day. Immediately Ryan and Amanda's story reminded me of an article that I stumbled across last week about how our culture has become obsessed with engagements, but as I watched the video I began to identify with their story and longed to have my own dreams become reality.

Admittedly, I have a Pinterest board - well two technically - that have ideas and inspirations for weddings. Like most young women in committed relationships I have given some thought to a future engagement and marriage celebration, but in looking at my board you'll see it's not organized and certainly not a plan of any kind. It is a complete mish-mash of contrasting and contradicting images of whatever I thought was pretty at that particular moment in time. My poor boyfriend wouldn't know what to think if he ran across it with this idea in mind.

I don't obsess over it, but I can easily see how that could happen. We all see friends and family posting photos of diamond rings and smiling faces. Proposals with hidden photographers and videographers documented on social media outlets like facebook, twitter, instagram and pinterest. I understand the desire to share your life moments online with friends and family, but in some cases it also seems to put unnecessary pressure on couples.

When I first came across Ryan and Amanda's story I wondered if it would be just another over-the-top engagement documented and shard via social media. What I discovered was something quite different. I learned that during the five years that they had dated, Ryan had never told Amanda that he loved her. He waited until the day he proposed to her. He explains in the video that he didn't want to throw that phrase around lightly.

Choosing a life partner is one of the most important - if not the most important - decision we will make in our lives. While I was incredibly moved by their story and the magical way that Ryan made Amanda's dream come true. It made me think about my own dreams, and consider what I want for my own future.

I would be incredibly disappointed if my boyfriend planned our wedding on the day we get engaged. Their story made me realize that I want to plan that very special event with him. I want us to go through the stressful process of planning and making decisions together. I want to learn how to work through conflict with him - knowing that the end result will be worth it all.

I want to celebrate the moment where our lives become entertwined among our family and friends in a way that illustrates each our personalities and dreams, not just my own. In short, Ryan and Amanda's story has inspired me to follow my own dream, and not settle for anything less.

If you haven't seen it yet, here's their story: