It was May 25, 2002 when I stunned my girlfriend, Crystal, and proposed to her in front of about 10,000 people at the Memorial Day Jazz Fest in San Diego. It was right before trumpeter Chris Botti was scheduled to play.

After agreeing to be a part of our special day, Chris actually changed his set to open with "When I Fall In Love." It was an amazing moment.

Crystal and I stood on the stage just to Botti's right while he played the song just for us. She cried her eyes out—I'm still collecting bonus points for that!

A few weeks before the wedding, Botti visited the radio station for an interview and, afterwards, recorded a special version of "our song," which was played when my lovely bride walked down the aisle at our outdoor wedding in North Lake Tahoe.

D.T., Antelope, California

I whisked my boyfriend, Eric, away on an eight-day eastern Caribbean cruise—as a surprise—for his birthday. All of the arrangements were made. My best friend and her boyfriend were joining us; my brother and his girlfriend were hinting that they'd try to make it last minute.

Eric had no idea where we were going. So on his birthday weekend—which we celebrated in a lovely suite in Atlantic City, New Jersey (thanks to my mother, the high roller)—I handed him a box with a miniature Carnival cruise ship. He eyed it curiously, and asked me cautiously, "Are we going on a cruise?" To which I replied (enthusiastically), "Eight days, baby!"

What was I most excited about? Port of call number 1: San Juan, Puerto Rico (the island my family is from). I really wanted to take him to El Morro (the fort the Spanish built to protect the island from invasion hundreds of years ago, which partially still stands). El Morro is a place that has always been close to my heart. And Eric knew that.

Fast forward to September 28, 2006. Good news: We arrived in San Juan an hour early! We were scheduled to arrive at 3:00 PM. I was so happy about that. So I rushed to the room after lunch with everyone and got ready to disembark in a hurry. I want to be the first couple off that ship!

Nobody was rushing but me. I freaked out. I told my best friend and her boyfriend that we'd meet them there—if they want to be slow, fine! Then, I reneged. We all left the ship at about 2:45.

We caught a cab to El Morro. Eight bucks and 10 minutes later we were at its grand entrance. It's 100 degrees and everyone is happy—I was elated to be there.

Someone paid the entrance fee and Eric grabbed a map. He told me, "I want to go to this guard tower." Without hesitation, I said, "Let's go. I 'll follow you."

We got the location of the tower; it was so beautiful. My best friend and I took some pictures. Then, Eric grabs my hand and said, "Let's go in there."

I followed him into the small guard tower with a small window in front, overlooking the vast ocean. He about-faced. (I'm thinking that I can't see out of the window because he is blocking the view.) He looked in my eyes and asked me if I knew how much he loves me. To which I replied, "Of course, honey. I love you too."

His eyes are starting to glass over just a bit.

He said, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you." And then he dropped to one knee.

The world stopped for me that second. For one second, as I understood. Then I saw it—there was a beautiful, bright, diamond ring standing straight up in a sapphire-blue velvet holder in the window, overlooking the ocean.

Do I look at him? Do I look at the ring? Oh, my God, is this really happening?

He asked, "Will you marry me?"

I hugged him and cried. And hugged him and cried some more. After about 45 seconds of that, he looked at me, smiled, and whispered: "Is that a 'yes'?" I said, "Yes, yes—I'd be honored."

He smiled an even bigger smile and said, "Let me put on your ring—left hand, right?" I smiled and go to hug him again. He said, "I have another surprise for you." I told him that I didn't think I could handle another surprise.

We walked out of the narrow walkway out of the guardtower to see my brother and his girlfriend, my bestfriend and her boyfriend gleaming.

And then I froze when I saw my mother and father standing there.

He had done it. Given me the surprise of a lifetime. The rest—as they say—is history.

E.R., White Plains, New York

We had been dating for almost 10 years.

We were on a vacation where we traveled through five states with a group of hundreds of Mini Coopers as we celebrated a new limited edition model. We decided to go a few days early so we could visit Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, where his grandmother was born and met his grandfather.

We went first on a Sunday and found the lot where her house once sat and took pictures and a souvenir brick from the foundation that was buried. We planned to go to the archives to do some genealogical research but they were closed so we drove through the downtown area and found a square with a gazebo in the center. We took pictures and decided we would return the next day to go to the archives.

The next day we traveled most of the way from Memphis to Nashville with the Mini Cooper group but parted ways early to head back to Lawrenceburg. We were headed in the direction of the archives and he should have been in the left lane on the main highway to turn toward the library where the archives was located. Instead he turned right and returned to the gazebo we had seen the day before in the town square.

He opened the trunk of the Mini and pulled a small box out of his luggage. He said he thought he would take me over to the center of town and ask me to marry him. We went over to the gazebo and he asked me if I would be his wife. He wanted to ask me where his grandmother was born and where she met her husband because he thought then we would have a good reason to return someday.

Of course I said yes.

Afterward we went to the archives and found the maps we needed of the cemetery where his great-grandparents are buried. We went to the cemetery and then headed on to Nashville to continue our trip with the Mini Coopers.

H. B., Kenosha, Wisconsin

My boyfriend kept giving me hints of marriage. Sending me pictures of engagement rings, putting his last name after mine, suggesting I needed a ring on my left finger, talking about how later we would get married, etc. He was divorced and so was I .

I thought he was going to propose to me on my birthday and it didn't happen. I was devastated. He had given me a ring but when I asked him what finger I should put it on he told me I could do whatever I wanted to with the ring...whatever floated my boat. I guess it wasn't a promise ring so I wore it whenever.

Later on we got into a discussion of marriage only to find he didn't want to get married. As time went by, I made it clear to him I didn't want to get married either. In a way I felt he had broken my heart when it came to asking me to marry him. He had put the thoughts in my head only to contradict himself. Still, he continued with things like why I don't wear his ring on my left finger. I reminded him of what he had said, "Whatever floats your boat."

Then one day I had my ring on and he had me put it on my left hand to see if it fit. I told him it was big because I had it sized for my right hand.

I loved him and since I had already been married and had kids I stayed. That's where we were for a while until one evening we had come home from dinner. After putting away my jacket I turned around and there he was, on one knee with a small box in his hand.

"What are you doing"? I asked.

"Will you marry me?"

I guess if he would have popped the question a while back I wouldn't have hesitated. I told him, "I'll give you an answer when you tell me why and please don't tell me because you love me because I know you do." He had told me before that marriage was just a piece of paper and we didn't need to be married. So I needed something more than just the normal question.

He looked into my eyes and said, "You are my world...my life...the one I want to wake up to every morning to for as long as I live. You've given me peace, happiness, and a reason..."Will you marry me?"

My eyes got watery and I felt a big lump in my throat. I honestly didn't expect everything he had said. Oh yeah...I said, "Yes!"

J. D., San Francisco, California