My proposal idea..

[AnonymousGuy]

Pre-proposal to-do''s...
*Talk with her brother who is also a good friend of mine. We grew up together, so I think it would be respectful for me to talk with him before the proposal
*Ask her parents permission. I KNOW that this answer will be a yes. The reason that I know this is that her mother took me aside one day, and told me she would be honored if I would use her grandmothers engagement & wedding rings in the future when the time is right, and we take that next step. I of course said I would be honored to.
* Find a date good for everyone for the proposal

Proposal: My idea for the proposal is to do it on a horse and carriage ride in Chicago, in front of Buckingham Fountain. We have talked about taking horse and carriage rides before in the past for fun, so I think this would be a blast to do, and it wouldn''t be something that would raise red flags. We are an active couple, and we do LOTS together. Sports, movie nights with friends, game nights with family, work out, so on and so on. We really don''t get much time to ourselves, so I am thinking that the proposal would be just the 2 of us. Following that, my idea is to have ANOTHER surprise for her... We would go back somewhere, possibly my house, my parents house, or her parents house, and have a ''surprise'' engagement party. Just an informal gathering, with a couple dozen friends, pizza and pop, or something not too expensive.

I have been racking my brian for quite a while with different idea''s, and this one I think would be perfect, romantic, and not too pricey. I was getting bummed with the initial planning, because ALL of my ideas were turning out to be just WAAAAY to expensive.

Heirloom engagement ring question: So, I was PLANNING on purchasing a nice large 1 carat, high quality diamond for her for a ring. Since her mother asked me to use her grandmothers rings, I am now thinking of asking her mother if she would allow me to take the ring to a jewler and have a new diamond set in it. Would this be considered offensive? I wouldn''t want them to think that I don''t think the ring is good enough (I have NO IDEA what kind of diamond is in it), I just want it to have a personal touch from me for her. I have thought that if I DO go this route, that I will perhaps have the original diamond set into a necklace for her mother.

I am so excited about this. She is the girl of my dreams, and we mesh beautifully together. There is nothing that I wouldn''t do for her, and she would do the same for me. Our families go way back to when I was in grade school with her brother, and played sports with her brother as a kid. Our families love eachother, and we couldn''t possibly be happier. We are at a point in our lives where we are both ready for marriage, and to have a home together. We won''t be living together or having kids until after we are married.

 

[TooPatient]

Your carriage ride sounds wonderful. Especially since it is something you''ve both wanted to do. Maybe you could have the carriage take you to the engagement party location?

Setting the original stone for the mother is a beautiful idea. I would be touched (moved to tears, etc.) that you thought of it AND asked if it was okay. Be prepared for her to say no just in case. They may want to leave it in tact. If they do, maybe you could get a band to wear with it or have a stone set in a necklace and give her an engagement ring & necklace.

She is lucky to have someone like you. You have obviously put a lot of thought into this. I''m sniffling just thinking about how great it all sounds.

 

[AnonymousGuy]

I would love to have the Carriage take us to the party also, but it just won''t be possible. That would be over 20 miles round trip, and would take a REALLY long time. I don''t know if they would be able to use the streets outside of designated area''s either...

I am fully prepared to have her say no. I just hope that she doesn''t take offense when I ask. I will just have to find the right words.

I am so excited about this, but at the same time, I am nervous that no one will be able to attend the party on such short notice. So far, I have the proposal date squared away, and talked with her about the date. She is under the impression we are having a date night, no red flags with her, she has NO idea. We really don''t get many nights to just ourselves, so it will be perfect.

Now I just have to figure out the logistics of a camera person. I will have to email the carriage company to see if the carriage driver would be willing to take photographs. I would have someone meet us there, but that would further add to the cost, and it would be a 2 hour carriage ride, so I don''t know exactly what time we would arrive, and I would have to account for traffic as well.

She is such a wonderful person, and deserves the world. I am doing what I can to give her everything that she deserves.

 

[TooPatient]

It sounds perfect. I''m sure the carriage company can help.


She is a lucky woman to get to spend her life with you. Make sure to let us know how it goes.

 

[AnonymousGuy]

I am SOOO happy I came across this site today. I have had idea''s in my head, but I haven''t really had a good outlet with which I can look at them, and see the plans coming together.

I made the call about 30 minutes ago and spoke with her father. I have a dinner date with her parents set for next week. I CANNOT WAIT!!! Now just to figure out where to take them. Maybe a steakhouse or something, because I know they LOOOOVE steak. Her dad is amazing with a grill.

I for SURE will keep you posted on the event!!

 

[D&T]

Sounds Fantastic, and I love the idea of you resetting the stone for your future MIL... what a sweet guy you are! good luck! Do come back with pictures

 

[leejaedong]

Wow. I''m new to this forum and I can already feel that I''m gonna learn a lot.. update us on what happens!

 

[AnonymousGuy]

So far, things are coming together very nicely. I have the location for the ''after party'' all set, and ready to go, just need to manage to invite friends on the down low, so that they don''t tip her off.

The dinner has been reserved at Claim Jumper, a pretty nice resturant in the area that I have been to before, but not for quite a while. I have the time and place confirmed with her parents who are going "out to dinner with her fathers business associate" which isn''t uncommon. I plotted with 2 of her girlfriends, and they are taking her out for a girls night that same night so that there is no WAY she will figure out my plans. Also, I have plotted with my guy friends that we are all hanging out that night if anyone asks.

I still have yet to figure out how the pictures for the proposal are going to work out. My sister is big into photography and has a really nice camera, and takes excellanat pictures. I will have to see if she would be willing to meet us down there for the pictures.

Man, I am so excited, and nervous!! I hope that everything goes smoothly. Will keep you posted!!

 

[vc10um]

Everything sounds like it''s falling into place for you...excellent! And I think having your sister take pictures for you will be perfect...I''m sure she''d be happy too, and it''s way more personal than having some random photographer take your pictures!

Best of luck! (And way to cover your bases!)

 

[AnonymousGuy]

WELL, dinner with her parents went WONDERFULLY this week. I was very VERY VERY nervous about it, but it went REALLY REALLY well. It wasn''t awkward or uncomfortable at all, and we talked the whole time about different things. After we put in our order, I asked them. They could both tell I was VERY nervous, but after I got a few words out, I was into it, and the nerves went away. The Mrs. said Mr. could speak for them both, and he said "Two things I would like to say...
1. You don''t ever lay hand on my daughter
and
2. What makes you think that you are good enough for my daughter?"

The first one is obvious, I''m not that kind of person, and couldn''t ever do anything like that.
The second one I liked. They are a very close family, and I REALLY liked that question. I that EVERY father should ask his daughters boyfriend that question. I was on a roll, and didn''t stumble through it at all, and they happy with what I said. They gave me a YES!!

After that, they asked about proposal plans, and I had told them some of my ideas, and asked what they thought about other parts. They LOVED the carriage ride around the city idea. As far as the photographer and after party were concerned, I wasn''t real sure what to do there. Her mom suggested taking a small camera myself, and having someone at the fountain take the pictures for us. Sure, they will not get the question being popped, but that way, it makes things go smoother, and she won''t get tipped off if she sees someone down there. It just makes the logistics of the ride easier to figure out. I also asked her mother about people being present FOR the proposal, and what her thoughts were, since I know that she and her daughter talk about that kind of thing. She suggested that we keep it private, just with the 2 of us on the ride, and at the fountain. This is what I was planning on, but I didn''t want to not allow her parents to be there if they wanted to be. As far as the surprise party afterward, she suggested that we should do a party another time, so that 1. We can keep the proposal date special between us, and 2. make sure that we both invite all we would like to attend. It would have been REALLY REALLY difficult to plan a party for her and invite her friends to a party for an event that I wasn''t going to tell them about, word would have gotten to her. So after the proposal, I am going to take her out to a nice steak dinner somewhere in the city. We both LOOOOOOVE steak.

Her friends did a GREAT job, and they went on a girls dinner night out together. She had absolutly NO clue that I was behind it, and what was going on. I play softball with the 2 friends, and they had an IDEA that I took her parents to dinner, but I laughed it off saying that my girlfriend knows that an engagement is over 4 months away at this point, so now THEY have no idea what to expect either.

I am VERY excited. Come Monday, I should have the Carriage ride booked and set up. Does anyone know what amount is good for a tip for the carriage driver? When I dine, I always tip between 15-20% depending on service, unless it''s REALLY bad, then they might get 10%. I dunno if the same percentages would be used there. I will have to ask around with my friends also.

The proposal is a little over 2 weeks away, so I will have to keep you posted on how it goes.

 

[TooPatient]

Date: 9/18/2009 12:32:20 PM
Author: AnonymousGuy
WELL, dinner with her parents went WONDERFULLY this week. I was very VERY VERY nervous about it, but it went REALLY REALLY well. It wasn''t awkward or uncomfortable at all, and we talked the whole time about different things. After we put in our order, I asked them. They could both tell I was VERY nervous, but after I got a few words out, I was into it, and the nerves went away. The Mrs. said Mr. could speak for them both, and he said ''Two things I would like to say...
1. You don''t ever lay hand on my daughter
and
2. What makes you think that you are good enough for my daughter?''

The first one is obvious, I''m not that kind of person, and couldn''t ever do anything like that.
The second one I liked. They are a very close family, and I REALLY liked that question. I that EVERY father should ask his daughters boyfriend that question. I was on a roll, and didn''t stumble through it at all, and they happy with what I said. They gave me a YES!!

After that, they asked about proposal plans, and I had told them some of my ideas, and asked what they thought about other parts. They LOVED the carriage ride around the city idea. As far as the photographer and after party were concerned, I wasn''t real sure what to do there. Her mom suggested taking a small camera myself, and having someone at the fountain take the pictures for us. Sure, they will not get the question being popped, but that way, it makes things go smoother, and she won''t get tipped off if she sees someone down there. It just makes the logistics of the ride easier to figure out. I also asked her mother about people being present FOR the proposal, and what her thoughts were, since I know that she and her daughter talk about that kind of thing. She suggested that we keep it private, just with the 2 of us on the ride, and at the fountain. This is what I was planning on, but I didn''t want to not allow her parents to be there if they wanted to be. As far as the surprise party afterward, she suggested that we should do a party another time, so that 1. We can keep the proposal date special between us, and 2. make sure that we both invite all we would like to attend. It would have been REALLY REALLY difficult to plan a party for her and invite her friends to a party for an event that I wasn''t going to tell them about, word would have gotten to her. So after the proposal, I am going to take her out to a nice steak dinner somewhere in the city. We both LOOOOOOVE steak.

Her friends did a GREAT job, and they went on a girls dinner night out together. She had absolutly NO clue that I was behind it, and what was going on. I play softball with the 2 friends, and they had an IDEA that I took her parents to dinner, but I laughed it off saying that my girlfriend knows that an engagement is over 4 months away at this point, so now THEY have no idea what to expect either.

I am VERY excited. Come Monday, I should have the Carriage ride booked and set up. Does anyone know what amount is good for a tip for the carriage driver? When I dine, I always tip between 15-20% depending on service, unless it''s REALLY bad, then they might get 10%. I dunno if the same percentages would be used there. I will have to ask around with my friends also.

The proposal is a little over 2 weeks away, so I will have to keep you posted on how it goes.

Her parents sound great. I''m glad they said yes. And they have helpful advice for the proposal.

I have never been in a carriage (okay, so I''ve never even seen one except in the movies) so I don''t know what to say about the tip.

What a wonderful plan you have. Let us know how it goes. And post pictures (if you and soon to be FI are comfortable with it).

 

[Nomsdeplume]

I''m so excited for you and your girlfriend just reading this!
You will do great.

 

[AnonymousGuy]

Oh yeah... I fogot to mention. With her grandmothers ring, I decieded that I will NOT alter it. I wouldn't want to alter a family heirloom, so instead, an idea was given to me that I could get her a 1st year anniversary ring instead, which is what I think I will do.

 

[TooPatient]

Date: 9/18/2009 1:02:54 PM
Author: AnonymousGuy
Oh yeah... I fogot to mention. With her grandmothers ring, I decieded that I will NOT alter it. I wouldn''t want to alter a family heirloom, so instead, an idea was given to me that I could get her a 1st year anniversary ring instead, which is what I think I will do.

I''m sure she will appreciate that. You respected her family and something that means a lot to them.
Besides, what woman wouldn''t be thrilled to get 2 rings instead of one? More Diamonds!!!!

Another great thing is that if you decide to have kids, she''ll be able to pass the ring on when the time comes and still have a ring to wear.

 

[vc10um]

Date: 9/18/2009 1:14:48 PM
Author: TooPatient

Date: 9/18/2009 1:02:54 PM
Author: AnonymousGuy
Oh yeah... I fogot to mention. With her grandmothers ring, I decieded that I will NOT alter it. I wouldn''t want to alter a family heirloom, so instead, an idea was given to me that I could get her a 1st year anniversary ring instead, which is what I think I will do.

I''m sure she will appreciate that. You respected her family and something that means a lot to them.
Besides, what woman wouldn''t be thrilled to get 2 rings instead of one? More Diamonds!!!!

Another great thing is that if you decide to have kids, she''ll be able to pass the ring on when the time comes and still have a ring to wear.

Sounds excellent all around, and I totally agree with TooPatient...what girl doesn''t love MORE DIAMONDS!??! She will be so touched that you''re proposing with an heirloom, and so happy to have a second ring a year later (just dont'' tell her til she gets it!)

Best of luck to you...can''t wait to hear how it goes!

Oh, and for the carriage, I''d tip the guy $5-10 per half hour, depending on how smooth the ride is and such.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I''m so glad you didn''t alter the heirloom ring! You would have had to alter the whole head of the ring if you had put in a larger stone and it might have really ruined the ring. What I would do is to tell her that her mom offered this ring, but if she would like a new set, you will get that as well. That way, you are sure that she gets what she wants. You sound like such a ice guy! I can''t wait to hear about the proposal! Please come back and post some pictures for us!

 

[leejaedong]

Sounds like everything is going according to plan.

Classy move with the heirloom ring. It would be best to keep it the way it is. Man, your girlfriend is really lucky to have you. Keep us posted!

 

[AnonymousGuy]

CLIFF NOTES: This has been the LONGEST MONTH of my LIFE!!!! The proposal happened on Saturday October 3rd, and she said YES!!!


Sarah and I are a VERY active couple, as we have a CRAZY calendar with stuff going on all the time. SO, October 3rd happened to be an open day on the calendar, so I made plans with her to make it a ''Date Night'' for us. We seldom have time alone to just the 2 of us, so this was PERFECT!! The week before, she would inquire about what was going on over the weekend in an email or a text message, just to see what was planned. With those messages, it wasn''t hard to change the topic, so that I didn''t have to make up a lie for the reason that we were going to the city. Well, one day, she asked when we were with each other about our plans for the 3rd, and I told her I was taking her to Lincoln Park zoo. We went there on our anniversary back on July 18th during the day, before we attended the Rascal Flatts concert at Wrigley Field (We were ONNNN the field, and it was AMAZING, but that''s another story) that night. SOOOOo... Being that we are an active couple, we are not the type that just sit on the couch all day and watch TV all day. We are always out actively doing things with friends and family. We have in the past said that we should take a ''lazy day'', and just stay in and watch movies all day long some day. Well.... She told her mom earlier in the week that she kind of wanted to be lazy and stay in on Saturday, and luckily her mom was saying that she will have a blast in the city... PHEW!! LOL. Over the last week, I must have checked the weather about 50 times a day for Saturday. Early in the week, there was a call for storms that day... NOOOO!!! As Saturday approached, it was scattered showers, and a 20% chance of rain between 2-4pm, which was when the carriage ride and proposal was to take place.


10:00am Saturday morning..... My alarm goes off, and I get myself ready for the day. After some cleanup at my house, and going over the days plans in my head time after time, I am ready to go pick her up. This was the LONGEST morning of my life, even though it was only about 90 minutes from when I woke up to walking out the door. On the 40 minute drive to her house, I had hundreds of thoughts racing through my mind. Looking at all the hints that were right there in front of her, the calling her house phone, and her moms cell phone, dinner with her brother, and the date night on Saturday, I was thinking perhaps she had a clue about what was coming..... The thing that calmed me down, was that the sky was MOSTLY blue at this point, so it looked like rain was out of the question. I was getting VERY excited about the proposal, but was nervous about the logistics of the day.... What if the parking garage was full, what if someone ELSE took our carriage?!?


I got to her house around 12:15 or so, and we had a quick lunch. My ORIGINAL plan was to leave her house at 12:30 to make sure we are on time for the carriage, but after thinking about the fact that it really only takes 45 minutes to get down to the city, we would be standing there for about 45 minutes more waiting.... not fun. Luckily, she asked if we could stop at the store on the way out, and that worked out perfectly. We needed to kill about 20 minutes at the store, and I wasn''t sure how we would. I lucked out, the store was being remodeled, and things were scattered around the store in random locations, some shelves in the middle of aisles where there shouldn''t be any, etc. etc. The store worked out PERFECTLY, and we were on our way to the city at about 1:10.....


We took 290 into the city, and it was pretty much smooth sailing all the way. After we were in the city, I turned North on State. At this point, she was wondering if I remembered how to get to the zoo. I told her I was "Taking the scenic route". Suspicion erased.... We head North on State street across the river, and go a few blocks down, and hang a right at Pearson. By NOW, she''s like, "How come you turned this way? That''s odd..." Just East of Rush street, we turn into a parking garage and she says "I didn''t THINK we were going to the zoo, what ARE we doing today??" She was VERY excited, and KNEW something is afoot. Jokingly, I told her "This place has fun elevators, and we''re here to check ''em out." At this point, she KNEW I wasn''t going to say what we were doing. After parking and funnily enough, taking a ride on the SMALLEST elevator I have EVER SEEN, (fit about 3-4 people).


We hit the sidewalk on Pearson, and head East to Michigan Ave. which is the next North/South street to the East. To set the scene, On the South West corner of Michigan Ave and Pearson St. is the Chicago Water tower, which was one of a handful of buildings to survive the Great Chicago Fire almost 138 years ago... (Oct 8th-Oct 10th, 1871). The building is on its own block, with beautiful gardens around it. If you haven''t seen it, you should. It''s amazing to think that it was built almost 150 years ago... Anyways.... As we are walking down the sidewalk, there is a horse and carriage on the street, and Sarah commented about how we should really take a ride in one sometime. To throw her off, I replied with a "For sure, we will have to do that one of these days, or take a special trip out to do that, it would be REALLY fun.". As we get to Michigan Ave, we turn left, and head North. The next block down is Chestnut, and that is were the carriage was to pic us up, Southwest corner of Michigan Ave, and Chestnut. As we walk down the street, we can see there is another carriage in front of us, but this one is white, and it isn''t ours. Ours is a red carriage. She doesn''t so much focus on the carriage this time, but sees the John Hancock building, and we were remembering our date when I took her to the Signature Room, a WONDERFUL restaurant on the 95th floor of the Hancock building. I suggest a dinner after sunset, as the city is BEAUTIFUL from that height, but heading back on-topic...


As we approach Chestnut street, I am not seeing a red carriage, and I am getting REALLY nervous. Thoughts are racing through my mind... "Are we at the right corner, I THINK this is the correct street??" "Did someone else accidentally get onto our carriage??" "What if the driver is sick today, and didn''t come in to work??" I was relieved to see that our carriage sat on Chestnut, about 100 feet from the corner, which is why we couldn''t see it. As we rounded the corner, she KNEW that we were going on a carriage ride, and she was SOOOOO excited about it. The look on her face was that of a little kid on Christmas morning, racing down the stairs to see a Christmas tree with presents overflowing from the bottom of it. I had the same look on my face, and a sigh of relief, things were going smoothly, and just as planned. I walk up to the driver, and inquire as to if they provide a tour on a specific street (which I will not name, in case they use the same pass phrase for each ride), and he said yes. This didn''t give away where we were headed, as it was in the opposite direction from our destination. As we get into the carriage, the driver asks if we would like to stop for pictures, and I say yes.


And we were off!! Our carriage tour of the city began, and it was WONDERFUL!! We criss-crossed the streets of the city, and crossed over the river at Wabash. We felt like celebrities or royalty, all eyes were on us, as we rode in the beautiful red carriage. I have to say, that in all of the times that I have been in the city, not ONCE have I ever seen a carriage in the city South of the Chicago river, they are usually to the North, around The Water Tower, and a few blocks North of that even. As the carriage continued farther South into the city, Sarah asked "I wonder if they go past Buckingham Fountain, that would be beautiful!" "Uh-oh" I thought... She KNOWS!!!!! SO I told her that I wasn''t really sure where we were headed, just that it was lots of fun, and I am sure wherever he stops will be pretty sweet." After this, I noticed that there was a light drizzle that was beginning.... That was another "Uh-OH!!" in my head.


We turned East onto Monroe, and the drizzle continued, picking up a little bit of steam. The sidewalks were full of people, and everyone was still just walking. As we went past the Art institute, the drizzle turned into harder rain, and the wind was picking up. We got to Columbus Dr, and turned right, heading South. To our right is the Chicago Art Institute, and to our left is Grant Park, which has the Chicago Country Music Festival going on. With the rain falling increasingly harder, the music festival still had music blaring, but only about 6 people in the crowd, everyone else ran for shelter. As we continued down Columbus, I was getting Nervous... "What if the fountain is blocked off due to renovations??" (I remember that earlier in the year, it was fenced off while it was being worked on, and COMPLETELY forgot about it. That was phase 1 of 3 phases, which was completed in April of this year. Luckily, the next phase starts this winter.) Then it was "Shoot, what if the music festival has it roped off for their use??" And then "Oh man, I HOPE that it hasn''t been shut off for the year yet!!" AGAIN, all of my nerves turned to relief when we approached Congress Parkway and we could FINALLY see the fountain. It was NOT under construction, it was NOT roped off, and it was RUNNING!!!! HOORAY!!! As I was getting very excited, and we pulled a U-turn to stop, the heavens opened up, and it was pouring outside...


We stopped, and it was ACTUALLY PERFECT TIMING!!! The driver said that he was going to quickly feed the horse, and also put up the side of the carriage to block the rain. This was perfect, because it didn''t seem to be ''set up'' for the stop, but more to block us from getting wet by the rain. He said we can get out and take pictures for a few minutes if we would like, it was our choice. I wasn''t sure if Sarah was going to be up for getting out in the rain, but she still had that smile on her face, and she wanted to. That was ANOTHER relief. This day was going PERFECTLY, and I was SOOOO relieved to see that despite the rain, there was a couple standing under an umbrella by the fountain, almost as if they were waiting for us. Sarah and I have lived in the Chicago Suburbs all our lives, and never have EITHER of us been up close to the fountain like this. Sure, we have each driven down Columbus to or from Congress Parkway and seen it in the car, but this is TOTALLY different. You can''t get the real appreciation of it by just driving by. It was REALLY REALLY all too perfect. As we were walking up to the fountain, I was hoping the rain would let up, but it just didn''t. I asked the couple if they would mind taking a picture for us by the fountain, and they kindly obliged. They took a GREAT photograph of us next to the fountain, and the guy took a step towards us to give the camera back, and I asked asked if he would please take just one more picture for us.


This was IT! It was the BIG MOMENT!!! He raised the camera up to take the second picture, and as he did that, Sarah turned away from me to look at her purse, and as she did that, I had the ring box out of my pocket, opening up, and was on my knee as the rain fell. She turned back towards me, and as she was turning, her jaw dropped, she dropped her purse, and she was in utter amazement. There in front of Buckingham Fountain, at about 3:00 on Saturday October 3rd, 2009, I asked my wonderful friend to be my wife, and she said yes, tears streaming down her face, and TOTALLY surprised. The rain continued to fall as we stood there kissing and hugging. It seemed as though we stood there by the fountain for the better part of an hour in the rain, (really about 10 minutes), and I was so relieved that the day went so perfectly, and that she said YES!! Now, some of you might think that "That''s too bad that it was raining, and not a nice sunny day...". To be honest, I really can''t explain it, but I wanted to give Sarah a proposal fit for a movie, something perfect that we would both remember for the rest of our lives, and that we can tell our children and grandchildren. If it wasn''t raining, it wouldn''t have had the same element to it. It was like we were being graced by god, and it was a celebration of the day. If you watch a romantic movie, there is just about ALWAYS a romantic kiss in the rain.. That kiss wouldn''t be the same on a nice sunny day, it just wouldn''t. This was the same way.


The couple gave us back the digital camera, and we looked at the pictures, first the nice picture of us in front of the fountain, then the picture of me on my knee, Sarah''s purse on the ground, and her jaw dropped as I asked her. They took the perfect picture at just the right time, and I am SOOO grateful to them!!! We headed back to the carriage, and as we got there, the driver presented Sarah with a BEAUTIFUL bouquet of roses. As we are pulling away from the curb, the rain is slowly letting up, and just pretty much stopped when we were a block away. We were both so happy on the ride back. It was on the ride back that I told her "WHEW!!! This is a HUGE relief for me, that all of the plotting and planning went PERFECTLY for today" and I proceeded to tell her about my past month of running around without her knowledge and organizing ''girls nights'' for her, and taking her parents out to dinner, taking Dan out to dinner, sorting through the many ideas I had for that day, and how relieved I was that I picked the PERFECT thing to do. She was utterly amazed that I was able to do so much over a month, and have her COMPLETELY not have ANY clue about the proposal. She was so surprised that nobody let the cat out of the bag too early. With all of the calling her parents, and plans, and even having my DAD (thanks dad, LOL) introduce Sarah to someone as my fiancee about 2 weeks back at the road rally, she didn''t even notice, LOL!!


My ultimate goal, aside from having Sarah say YES of course, was to give her the most wonderful, romantic, surprising, and movie-worthy proposal that I could, and I am happy to say, that I feel that I accomplished ALL of those things.

Sorry that it was so long.

Thank you all for your support!!! I really appreciate it!!!

 

[TooPatient]

Congratulations!!!

It sounds amazing. Certainly something you will both remember.

 

[vc10um]

Wonderful wonderful job!!! Congratulations...I''m SO glad it worked out well for you!!!

 

[Bal]

I like it ! Sounds like you put some thought into it which is important.

 

[AustenNut]

What a sweet and thoughtful proposal! I''m sure she appreciated all of your effort, and it will certainly make a memorable story to tell your children.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Awww!!! I loved it!!!!

You really did a great job!

What happened about the ring? Was she happy with the family ring or did she say she wanted a new one?

 

[IceExplorer]

Brilliant!

It sounds like you had a lot of close calls but everything went perfect!

Congrats!