Congratulations to Caley & Mark On Their Engagement!

This year’s 2012 Wedding Planner & Guide Winter Bridal Show was a particularly eventful show. Amongst the crowds of eager and excited brides-to-be, one young attendee was unaware that she too would be asked the question of a lifetime…

Caley Polipnic and her boyfriend, Mark Swanson, had been dating for almost a year and a half. Though their parents had been friends for awhile, Mark and Caley didn’t actually spend much time together until Caley sang at Mark’s sister’s wedding. “After that,” Caley reminisces, “Mark contacted me asking me to go play golf – which I’m terrible at – and get dinner. The rest is history!”

Recently, Mark and Caley had been talking about getting engaged, so Caley’s mom (who was in on Mark’s plan) suggested that she and Caley visit the Wedding Planner & Guide Bridal Show just to get some preliminary ideas.

When they entered the show, Caley paused to look at a beautiful wedding gown she spotted in the show lobby. Suddenly, Mark jumped out of nowhere. “What are you doing here?!” Caley exclaimed.

As she describes it, “At first I thought he was just there to go with me, but when I saw his mom and sister with tears in their eyes and cameras ready, I knew that wasn’t the case!” Mark, in his typical, humorous fashion, got down on one knee and opened a box which held a giant, orange-sized ring! He then pulled out the real thing and Caley happily said yes.

“Well, aren’t you going to put it on?” Mark asked her.

Caley recalls, “I told him that it was his job and held out my hand – I’m pretty sure he wasn’t sure which finger to put it on!” When the two looked up, a crowd had formed and everyone started clapping. Surrounded by family and a string quartet playing softly in the background. “It was so perfect!” Caley exclaims.

From there they proceeded into the bridal show. “I was still in shock from being proposed to,” Caley admits, “But it was so fun to get all of those great ideas. I couldn’t believe the variety of vendors and it really opened my eyes to a ton of things! There are so many little things you don’t think of when it comes to wedding planning, but everything you could think of and more was there! It was such a great experience…I would go again and again!”

As Caley and Mark continue to plan their wedding, Caley will be finishing up her senior year at UW-Eau Claire in Choral Music Education. After the wedding, they plan to settle in the Madison area near both of their families and eventually start a family of their own.

Congratulations to you both, Caley and Mark!