Meandering Maine: I Said Yes!!

Text: sent to all friends and family August 28^th.

From: Annie Pease

WOW!! What a beautiful ring! The love story is even more beautiful. Let’s meet the groom and hear what he planned and how it went for him.

Meet Peter Gray..

Pete lives in London, England so he had to cross the Atlantic Ocean to do the deed. His side or the story…or as he puts it “what was supposed to happen”.

Well to be completely honest I wanted to propose for a long time, so leading up to it there was nothing going through my head other than what if she said no. I’m not a fan of awkward situations. The day before, however, when I was flying home from London it was quite cool, the flight attendants found out I was going to propose and all got together to give me a bottle of champagne to open on the big day. As if that wasn’t enough, when we landed at Logan Airport the pilot wished me good luck over the intercom so the whole plane knew! It was quite cool but I think that increased the pressure level a bit.

-Peter Gray

Pete and I decided to spend the weekend at his family’s condo in North Conway, NH. After visiting the outlets we headed to Grant’s to pick up some essentials, and steak, potatoes and corn on the cob for dinner (I’m sure Pete bought brownies too, he does every time we go grocery shopping). The weather was absolutely beautiful and once the groceries were unpacked we decided to head to Mount Washington for a little hike. Pete suggested that we hike to the waterfall, only about 10 to 15 minutes up. He packed a backpack with “warm clothes and a couple of beers” to enjoy at the waterfall. We reached the waterfall and since the weather was ideal for hiking, I suggested we keep going. We ended up hiking for about 45 minutes, unbeknownst to me that the backpack Pete was carrying was much heavier than I thought…

- Annie Pease

BUT…Pete had “perfect plans”…how it “should have” gone.

It was a nice fall afternoon, Annie and I had just drive up to my family’s place in the mountains. It was still mid-afternoon and Annie suggested we go for a hike, playing magnificently into my plan. I suggested that we drive to the base of Mount Washington and hike up to Cascade Falls, it’s only about a ten minute trek up a nice easy path and has plenty of areas to set out a blanket and relax for a drink. We got to the falls, selected a nice rock underneath the water, I lay out a blanket and pull out the champagne. After a few minutes I took the video I made out of my bag and told her it was really funny and she had to watch it. She was clearly curious about me having carried a video, but after two minutes she seemed to have an idea of what was happening and when the last song finished I got down on one knee and sputtered out those four words. She said yes, we shoved the ring on her finger, a big hug and a kiss, and she whipped out her phone to call her mom. We spent the night calling people…well, that’s what was supposed to happen.

-Peter Gray

According to Annie, things went a little differently. She may have botched Pete’s planning just a little bit, but in the end the ring does go on her finger and…well you’ll see…

On our way down the mountain Pete suggested that we stop at the waterfall, which we did briefly but we hurried along (I had drank a liter of water on the way up and was anxious to reach the restrooms at the bottom). Relentless on his mission, Pete brought me to another trail that led to a river where we were going to sit and enjoy our drinks. It surprised me when after spreading out a blanket, Pete pulled his laptop out of his bag and told me he had a “funny video” you have to watch…quite suspicious. As the video rolled through pictures of us over the past two years, I had and inkling of what was about to happen, and when the song changed to “marry me Juliette, you’ll never have to be alone, I love you and that’s all I really know, I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress…” came on I knew. Pete kneeled down on one knee and said “Annie Pease, will you marry me?” I think I said yes, but to be honest I can’t remember. I was so excited! Pete then pulled champagne flutes and champagne out of his backpack (he can tell everyone how the champagne was presented to him). It is true after a hug and a kiss, I told Pete I had to call my mom and since I had no reception I ran out to the road to find some. We spent the next couple of hours calling family and friends to share our exciting news!

-Annie Pease

This begins Meandering Maine’s wedding story of the year, but it isn’t the beginning of Annie and Pete! Stay tuned and keep following to hear more about Annie and Pete growing up, meeting in college, and their beautiful journey to the altar.

The future Mr. and Mrs. Gray in London

Peter with his father Gary Gray.

The Great Maine Giveaway:

This week’s Great Giveaway begins with a cooking class with Lani Temple of Megunticook Market at the stunning Cellardoor Winery in Lincolnville, Maine on Monday, May 24 at 5:30 pm. You will join Annie and Pete in this cooking class. There’s more. So stay tuned this week for the rest of the giveaway and how to enter to win.