aneelcon
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2002
- Messages
- 248
This was on the first page of sunday''s SF Chronicle.
I hope this guy is a member of pricescope so he can recount his own version of the story and show us pics of the ring!
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/08/31/MN87453.DTL
What if she says no?
That question did cross Neil Schuster''s mind as he thought about the elaborate ruse he had set up to ask his girlfriend, Stephanie Sacco, to marry him. And then the ordinarily low-key Miami real estate developer put it out of his mind.
Self-doubt, it seems, is not in the vocabulary of Neil Schuster, 32, who projects confidence with a capital C -- at least most of the time.
Neil thought of, and rejected, a half-dozen ideas about how to propose in the most romantic place he could think of -- San Francisco.
Then it hit him. He would bring Stephanie here on vacation, and have an event planner set up a party where not only the guest of honor but also all the invitees would think they were merely attending the opening night of an art show. In front of everyone, Neil would propose, and Stephanie would say yes, because that would be the likely response to such a show of affection.
Or would it?
On Friday, Fort Mason Center''s Marina Building was turned into an art gallery -- a pretend one -- by party planner Robert Fountain. The walls bore photos of the fictitious "Jean Lucca Maretzo." The invitation described him as an Italian photographer renowned throughout Europe for his whimsical of dogs. This would be his U.S. debut.
Once in San Francisco, Neil made sure the dog art show figured into their plans by mentioning that their concierge at The Clift had recommended it. Stephanie, a 34-year-old advertising account manager, has an English bulldog at home.
The couple could swing by the art show gala before dinner at Restaurant Gary Danko. Stephanie agreed without a second thought.
SECURITY CONCERNS
Neil had the diamond engagement ring sent ahead by FedEx, so it would not alert the X-ray machine if he carried it on the plane. The ring was put into the hotel vault for safekeeping.
All systems were go, but Neil''s veneer began to crack. On the big day, he dialed his party planner every 15 minutes, telling Stephanie it was "business. " Would it all seem real enough, he wondered? And would she enjoy sharing this private moment with a room full of people she did not know?
Neil might have popped the question by hiding the ring in her creme brulee, putting his message on a ballpark scoreboard or proposing in a hot air balloon ride over Napa, but ruled them out. "Too cheesy," he said.
Instead, he had a Miami photographer snap Stephanie''s dog, Barlow, in a variety of clothing. The photos were shipped to San Francisco and hidden at the show behind a white velvet curtain, to be unveiled as the work of Maretzo. The big surprise would be the photo of the dog in a T-shirt with the words, "''Will you marry me, Steph?"
At 7:30 p.m., the couple joined the party in full swing -- a tuxedoed jazz trio played, waiters proffered two dozen guests wild mushrooms on garlic toast and tuna tartare on cumin crisps, and vases of white lilies and roses along with white votive candles topped cocktail tables.
AND SHE SAID . . .
Neil reached for a Jack Daniels on the rocks -- his favorite drink, but a bit of a confidence booster, too. He wiped his brow. He put his hands in his pockets. He took them out. He shifted his weight. From one foot. To the other.
Fountain, the party planner now pretending to be an art gallery manager, called everyone to attention. "I''m sorry to tell everyone that Jean Lucca Maretzo won''t be able to be here -- he missed his flight," he said, to groans of disappointment. "But let''s unveil his work."
Stephanie''s expression changed from one of polite interest to amazement as she read the marriage proposal on the T-shirt.
"Oh, my God!" she exclaimed, bringing her hands up to her face.
"I love you, would you be my wife?" Neil said on bended knee. "Would you marry me?"
To his immense relief, Stephanie''s reply was immediate. "Of course!" she said. And then she added, "This is surreal."
Two flutes of champagne materialized out of nowhere; the couple kissed; and Fountain jumped up and down, clapping his hands like a 4-year-old at Christmas.
"My proposal," observed guest David Post, who proposed to his wife, Cathy, 29 years ago, "was not quite as elaborate as this."
But Neil, who met Stephanie in the cafeteria at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., said the occasion called for something big.
"Not to be corny," he said, "but our love is grand."
I hope this guy is a member of pricescope so he can recount his own version of the story and show us pics of the ring!
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/08/31/MN87453.DTL
What if she says no?
That question did cross Neil Schuster''s mind as he thought about the elaborate ruse he had set up to ask his girlfriend, Stephanie Sacco, to marry him. And then the ordinarily low-key Miami real estate developer put it out of his mind.
Self-doubt, it seems, is not in the vocabulary of Neil Schuster, 32, who projects confidence with a capital C -- at least most of the time.
Neil thought of, and rejected, a half-dozen ideas about how to propose in the most romantic place he could think of -- San Francisco.
Then it hit him. He would bring Stephanie here on vacation, and have an event planner set up a party where not only the guest of honor but also all the invitees would think they were merely attending the opening night of an art show. In front of everyone, Neil would propose, and Stephanie would say yes, because that would be the likely response to such a show of affection.
Or would it?
On Friday, Fort Mason Center''s Marina Building was turned into an art gallery -- a pretend one -- by party planner Robert Fountain. The walls bore photos of the fictitious "Jean Lucca Maretzo." The invitation described him as an Italian photographer renowned throughout Europe for his whimsical of dogs. This would be his U.S. debut.
Once in San Francisco, Neil made sure the dog art show figured into their plans by mentioning that their concierge at The Clift had recommended it. Stephanie, a 34-year-old advertising account manager, has an English bulldog at home.
The couple could swing by the art show gala before dinner at Restaurant Gary Danko. Stephanie agreed without a second thought.
SECURITY CONCERNS
Neil had the diamond engagement ring sent ahead by FedEx, so it would not alert the X-ray machine if he carried it on the plane. The ring was put into the hotel vault for safekeeping.
All systems were go, but Neil''s veneer began to crack. On the big day, he dialed his party planner every 15 minutes, telling Stephanie it was "business. " Would it all seem real enough, he wondered? And would she enjoy sharing this private moment with a room full of people she did not know?
Neil might have popped the question by hiding the ring in her creme brulee, putting his message on a ballpark scoreboard or proposing in a hot air balloon ride over Napa, but ruled them out. "Too cheesy," he said.
Instead, he had a Miami photographer snap Stephanie''s dog, Barlow, in a variety of clothing. The photos were shipped to San Francisco and hidden at the show behind a white velvet curtain, to be unveiled as the work of Maretzo. The big surprise would be the photo of the dog in a T-shirt with the words, "''Will you marry me, Steph?"
At 7:30 p.m., the couple joined the party in full swing -- a tuxedoed jazz trio played, waiters proffered two dozen guests wild mushrooms on garlic toast and tuna tartare on cumin crisps, and vases of white lilies and roses along with white votive candles topped cocktail tables.
AND SHE SAID . . .
Neil reached for a Jack Daniels on the rocks -- his favorite drink, but a bit of a confidence booster, too. He wiped his brow. He put his hands in his pockets. He took them out. He shifted his weight. From one foot. To the other.
Fountain, the party planner now pretending to be an art gallery manager, called everyone to attention. "I''m sorry to tell everyone that Jean Lucca Maretzo won''t be able to be here -- he missed his flight," he said, to groans of disappointment. "But let''s unveil his work."
Stephanie''s expression changed from one of polite interest to amazement as she read the marriage proposal on the T-shirt.
"Oh, my God!" she exclaimed, bringing her hands up to her face.
"I love you, would you be my wife?" Neil said on bended knee. "Would you marry me?"
To his immense relief, Stephanie''s reply was immediate. "Of course!" she said. And then she added, "This is surreal."
Two flutes of champagne materialized out of nowhere; the couple kissed; and Fountain jumped up and down, clapping his hands like a 4-year-old at Christmas.
"My proposal," observed guest David Post, who proposed to his wife, Cathy, 29 years ago, "was not quite as elaborate as this."
But Neil, who met Stephanie in the cafeteria at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., said the occasion called for something big.
"Not to be corny," he said, "but our love is grand."
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