OUR STORY
Our
Story
Long story short, we met at a tantra workshop Leola was facilitating. Leola knew right away that Andrew would play a special role in her life, so she flirted with him. Andrew thought she was just being a nice facilitator... he chose to respect her role by not pursuing her...
In divine timing, several months later, on a group trip amongst friends, they fell in love. On their first date, Andrew said he would marry her. 5 months later he proposed while vacationing in South Africa.
For more on falling in love, listen to this episode of Leola's podcast.
Here's the story of the proposal...
They say not to make any big decisions or commitments while Mercury is in retrograde. 🪐
We got engaged. 💍
I had a suspicion Andrew would propose during our trip to Africa since we started planning 3 months prior 😏
When you know you know. & I couldn’t think of a more perfect time or place. 🤞🏼
But as the weeks led up to the trip, it felt like the universe was working against us. 🙃
Cancelled flights. Freak weather. Arguments over small things. Operational issues. Interpersonal drama. Lost reservations. 😵💫
All first world issues and inescapable human drama, nonetheless it felt endless. When it rains it pours. ☔️
I didn’t even know it was Mercury in retrograde until SO many things went “wrong” that I looked it up, and sure enough the planet went wayside on my birthday, December 29 & was not mean to shift until our return 😅
I googled, “is it okay to get engaged when Mercury is in retrograde?” 💻
All the astrology sites advised against it. I almost gave Andrew a heads up, but decided against it. Trusting divine timing instead. 🔮
The night before Andrew proposed, we had a big misunderstanding. It rocked the foundation of our relationship and tested our love. We spent the whole night finding our way from breakdown time breakthrough. ❤️🩹
We both cried. And woke up a bit crunchy, but still, always coming back to love. Coming back to our commitment. Driving our roots deeper into the soil and intertwining them. 💜
I couldn’t think of a more perfect time to propose but when life is a bit shit. 🙏🏼
What better way to say, “No matter what, I’m here for us.” 💒
We started our relationship on those grounds nearly 6 months ago - both of us managing grief. Some would say it was the wrong time to start a relationship. But for us, it was perfect. Seeing how Andrew showed up during one of the most challenging times of his life made me fall in love faster than ever. 🥰
And watching him get on one knee when we were still a bit weak from the night before, showed a type of commitment and vulnerability I’ve never experienced. And many people probably never do. 💕
It was the perfect place and perfect time. ✨
We were about a week into our trip in South Africa and had just arrived the night before at a game reserve a few hours west of Cape Town. 🐘
We were actually supposed to be at an entirely different safari, but the first one was flooded so I manically rebooked last minute and found Sanbona. Still, It was unseasonably cold - winter weather. Usually in the 90s, we froze our butts off on 40 degree game drives. It was a bit of a disappointment, but we cuddled in the back of the car and used humor to keep us warm. 🥶
The day of the proposal, on our morning game drive, I spotted white lions… we tracked elephants by foot… and enjoyed hot chocolate with a view of giraffes and rhino. 🦒
We came home for lunch, sitting at a cozy chair by the fire. While we waited to place our orders, I read “Marriage on the Rock” aloud and we discussed the content. We had taken to reading marriage books together about a month into our relationship. And we had gained so much already even though we weren’t yet engaged. 📖
A few moments later, the staff pulled us aside to take us on a drive to see ancient cave paintings a few kms away. 🎨
I read about the paintings on our way into the safari, sharing with Andrew how badly I wanted to see them. I almost studied anthropology in school - fascinated by culture, history, and the meaning of humanity. 🤩
In some ways it felt like fate that our first safari was cancelled, just so we could see the paintings 🖼
Apparently, only the shamans of the San tribe were allowed into the caves. From there, the medicine people would take psychedelics to push the veil, meditate, and paint depictions of sacred ways of life onto the mountain walls. 🍄
Only a few guests have been up to see them, as it was a relatively new discovery AND to my surprise, most visitors of the game reserve actually don’t really care to see these ancient rocks. They just want to see the cheetahs 🐆
So off we went, just Andrew, myself, and the guide. We hiked uphill a few hundred meters and crouched town to view the 2000 year old drawings made of blood, urine, herbs, and egg yolk. 🩸
It was so special. It felt so ancient and shamanic and dear to my soul. The energy was high. Was it the elevation? The shamanic place? Something more? 💍
And to think - we wouldn’t be here at all if it weren’t for a lot of things going “wrong”. Wrong was just right. 😎
The guide told us in those days, when a man wanted to marry, he had to first harvest an Eland (the largest antelope in the world). He would carve out the heart and offer it to the mother of his bride. The women would then rub the heart all over the bride’s naked body. ♥️
What a time.
We hiked a bit further to a cave. As we rounded the corner I saw more ancient drawings… and then a bucket of champagne, strawberries, and a bright pink rose. 🌹
I later learned the guide chose that rose because it was the last pink rose in the garden. I had showed up the day before wearing all pink. 🌸
I turned to Andrew and said, “Our love is ancient, just like these rocks. Just like this art.” 💫
The guide stepped away to give us privacy and Andrew dropped to one knee, pulling out the most gorgeous emerald cut aquamarine stone, flanked with diamonds. 💎
I fell into his lap in yes’s and kisses. 💖
We’re here for it. Through it all. Enamored by the promise of forever 🥰
