‘Southern Charm’ Star Olivia Flowers Is Engaged

Olivia Flowers’ life has only gotten better since leaving Southern Charm behind. The former Bravo reality star recently announced her engagement. And her soon-to-be-husband popped the question in the Big Apple with her parents’ involvement! Her fiancé, Alex Williams, spared no expense for his future bride and gave PEOPLE the exclusive. 

Flowers’ parents and some of her close friends witnessed the special moment at the Meadow Terrace Suite at JW Marriott Essex House. Williams played around a bit by proposing with a temporary ring before gifting his lady her custom 4-carat diamond ring from Nicole Rose Jewelry equipped with an 18k yellow gold band and a “classic, simple and elegant” style to be delivered before their official engagement party. His planning took place in their hometown of North Carolina before she jetted of to New York Fashion Week. He made sure to follow the Southern tradition of asking for her parents’ hand in marriage.

“Olivia has such an incredible group of friends, from elementary school through to college, and she’s very close with her parents, so I knew involving them somehow would mean a lot to her. I wanted her to feel all the love and the excitement in the world from the surprise of her loved ones,” Williams told the outlet. “Her mom Robin had the idea to propose while the four of us would be in New York together, for the Project Lyme Gala Olivia was speaking at.”

His big plan was nearly destroyed due to a last-minute conflict because of the United Nations meeting in the city simultaneously with the engagement plan. Luckily, the hotel was able to pull it off.

“The JW Marriott Essex House staff and our friends and family were so accommodating and moved well as the plan evolved,” he said. “I told her we had a work event to go to at one point and then I changed this to a luncheon, then I got her brand manager involved and made her think it was a photoshoot for the hotel.”

Thankfully, all went as planned and beyond, with Williams’ event getting Flowers’ social media manager involved to help execute his plan. Once she said yes, it was time to celebrate.

“We opened bottles of champagne and Olivia’s favorite wine and celebrated with everyone on the terrace. We later went to Olivia’s favorite Italian restaurant in NYC, which is also where Alex’s brother and wife surprised them, Trattoria Dell’Arte.” The celebrations continued in Charleston, South Carolina, and then in Dallas, Texas.