Breaking the news to our friends

As much fun as it was to devise a clever "We're engaged!" story for my mom, we brainstormed even harder when it came to our friends. We came up with some creative ways to surprise them, but my favorite "spill the beans" story has to be when we told our good friend R.

The engagement was still a secret. The few family members that knew promised to keep it a secret (and off Facebook) so we could share the news in person with close friends and distant family.

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We wanted R to be the first friend to find out. We'd been so persistent about it, I was positive she knew something was up. That weekend, I texted her to say I NEEDED a manicure, would she like to join me? But she had plans. (Who turns down a manicure?!) I thought my plan was foolproof. Mr. P stepped in with a plan of his own, texting her, "You have to see the bath reno - we've made so much progress since that last time you were here." She would stop by while out running errands.

It had gone from this...                                                   to this...
(and was stalled out waiting for the replacement countertop).
The bathroom was unchanged since her last visit and while underwhelmed, she politely complimented the progress. Mr. P admitted we hadn't touched it and actually I had to show her something. I held up my left hand while emphatically asking again if she wanted to get a manicure. It took a few seconds to click and when it did, boy she she freak out! Lots of screaming, jumping up and down, and hugs.

(All personal photos unless otherwise noted.)
Did you pull off any good engagement surprises?