I love to watch the sunrise, so on our second day, I was strolling by the shore and picking sea shells. He's not usually a morning person so I was very happy that he agreed to walk with me and greet the new day. I never had a clue that he was planning something big that morning. I did not even suspect his enthusiasm in helping me look for colored seashells and pebbles.
He was babbling on about a movie that he saw then he stopped mid-sentence to point out something that was partly covered in the sand. I bent over to check it out and saw that it was a small velvet box. Curious I turned to him and found him kneeling before me. My heart started to pound and it became difficult to breath when realization started to dawn upon me, he is going to propose! He took both of my hands in his and gently kissed them.
Then, he said that love was like a buried treasure underneath a mountain of sand. That upon his birth, fate was the map that guided him to to the greatest treasure in the universe, me. I was stupefied. I could hardly speak. We have always talked about marriage but we have both agreed that we're not yet ready for that level of commitment.
He gently pried my trembling fingers from the box and opened it. It was the most beautiful ring I have ever seen. My knees felt like Jell-O and I collapsed before him. With tears streaming down my face he softly said, "Will you do me the honor of being my wife?" Amidst tears and laughter, I said, "YES!"
A. B., Manila, Philippines
We've been together for 12 years. Last July Ollie and I went on vacation to Maui with our friend, Dan. He was suppose to bring a date but she backed out at the last minute, which was fine because the three of us have always had good times together.
On the 4th of July I was hanging out by myself as the guys were out visiting clients. Ollie called and told me to be ready for dinner by 5:30 p.m. When we were both ready for dinner we walked to the hotel lobby and a limousine was waiting to take us out for the night. Very romantic, right? Just me and Ollie of course.
During dinner Ollie kept going to the restroom complaining of a stomach ache. We ate a very good meal and had a special conversation during dinner. The last time he went to the restroom it was longer than normal.
While I was sitting by myself, a man playing the guitar and singing in Hawaiian stood by my table. From out of nowhere, my cousin from California walked towards our table and put a necklace around my neck. It was one I saw the day before at a jewelry store. I 'm freaking out asking her questions. She just told me to be quiet. Then TJ (one of Ollie's good friend) entered the room and put a lei on me. Then Kyle, another friend of ours, put a lei on me.
Finally Ollie walked back into the room in a white suit. He always said when the time comes he would be wearing a white suit. I knew he packed it for the vacation but he wasn't wearing it when we left to dinner. He changed.
When I saw him wearing that suit I knew for sure what was about to happen. The man playing the guitar stopped, Ollie said his special words and got down on his knee and proposed. I then said YES of course!
Dan was videotaping everything so we have it to watch over and over.
What makes this so special is that he had asked my parents for their blessing four weeks prior to us going on vacation. My whole family and friends all knew what he had planned by the time we had left for Maui and kept it a secret for quite some time.
The way he planned this was like a fairy tale. The engagement celebration lasted another six days on Maui with everyone he had flown in. It has to be one of the best engagements!
S. M., Salinas, California
It was a week before Memorial Day 2006 when I was working an internship at the University of Michigan Hospital and was scheduled to be on ER PM's. I was needless to say stressed out.
He called me on my cell phone one morning before work and asked me if I wanted to go out on a date with him this coming weekend. So I was of course excited and said yeah, but because I was so stressed out, I told him that I didn't want to think about anything and just surprise me and take me somewhere. He agreed and started talking about something else.
Well, Thursday comes along and he called me and he asked if I had a pen and paper around. I asked why and he said so he could tell me what I needed for our date. I was so surprised because, to be honest, I forgot about our date. I got a pen and paper and he told me what I needed and I started writing:
- Roller blades
- A Sweatshirt
- A Bathing Suit
- A Towel
- A Smile
At this point I was excited because of the anticipation but I was also scared because I never told him that I don't like roller blading.
It was a holiday weekend in Michigan with beautiful weather. I pulled up to his parents house dreading the thought of going roller blading in the heat. By this time is was about noon on a Saturday. In the driveway and I saw Jason's dad working in the garage.
Making small talk I said, "Hey, where's your boat". He said, "Oh, it's getting worked on at the marina." I was thinking that sucks its the holiday weekend and no boat to go out on the water on but I kindly smiled and went inside to greet Jason with a hug and kiss.
We ate lunch and then he asked me if I was ready to leave to go. I laughed and said yes. So we hopped in the car and started driving toward the west side of the state. I knew we were heading to Lake Michigan. I thought I had it all figured out.
We got to Lake Michigan but we drove past the boardwalk where "I thought" we were going to go, so now I 'm thinking, "What in the world are we doing?"
We ended up at the marina and we got out. He asked, "Are you ready?" I grabbed my roller blades and followed him to the docks where all the boats are parked. I asked him where we're going. He simply pointed in a direction and stated, "Over there." He laughed and said, "What if I told you I was going to take you charter fishing?" I just smiled because I didn't know what to think.
We were walking by all these giant million dollar yachts and, all of a sudden, I said, "Hey, that looks like your dad's boat." He smiled and jumped in. "It is," he said, "I wanted to surprise you and take you out on the boat." I was so excited. I had never been out on the big lake before.
The whole day out on the boat Jason couldn't stop staring at me. I didn't know why and I still didn't have a clue. We cruised around in the boat until about sunset and then he stopped the boat and grabbed the keys. I was thinking, "Why is he grabbing the keys to the boat?" Inside the key chain was the ring.
I stood up to get some food out of the cooler and he stopped me, popped open the key ring, got down on one knee and explained that I was the only one for him. And, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. I almost fell out of the boat! I was so much in shock. I had no clue he was going to do this.
We hugged each other and he went to the bow of the boat and got out a picnic basket full of all of my favorite things—Cheez-Its and my favorite wine. It was so amazing!
His mom had made some signs that read, "She Said Yes" on them. Jason got them out and hung them on the side of the boat. As we cruised through the harbor everyone saw them and they were screaming and shouting. A big freight boat honked his horn.
On the way home from Grand Haven I tried to call my mom but no one would pick up. I was so frustrated. When we reached Jason's parents house I got out of the car and my whole family was waiting on the deck for us! It was so sweet. We had wine and drank a toast.
It was so amazing but that's not all. Jason continued to say that he had a surprise for everyone there and asked both of our families to come inside the house. He put on a DVD showed a movie set to music showing our first year together and how we first met. Of course I was crying. He told me again the he loved me.
Later that night he gave each member of my family a copy of the DVD. It was the most romantic event ever.
K. K., Grand Rapids, Michigan
