Another weekend in the books, and honestly, I’m not feeling much better than when I left you all on Friday. With the beautiful weather we had this weekend, I wasn’t surprised to see so many people out and about, but I was surprised that so many people were NOT wearing masks, and I was disheartened to see 3 families having a playdate, with no masks or social distancing. I know everyone is getting cabin fever, my family included, and with the nice weather, everyone wants to get outside, but we need to do so safely, so all these limitations we currently have, do not continue to to drag on. While things may seem ok here in DC, the number of cases hasn’t even plateaued yet – they’re still on the rise – so we can’t be complacent in our actions. I guess having a husband that works in public health is rubbing off on me. I’ll step off this little soapbox for now.
Let’s turn our focus to this sweet surprise proposal! These are some of my favorite posts, probably because I accidentally spoiled my own proposal, multiple times, I’m told (that’s a story for another day). But this proposal went off without a hitch!
We started talking through a Christian dating app called, “Crosspaths,” for a month, then met in person at a restaurant in DC. We went on two more dates later that week and have been inseparable ever since. Our Christian faith brought us together and helped build a strong foundation in our relationship.
Marie had been suspicious that I would propose months before the actual proposal. During our Disney trip back in February 2019, Marie would joke that I had to give a heads up when I needed to bend down and tie my shoes! After the trip, these “jokes” continued and I was afraid that Marie would find out about my future proposal plan.
Marie is a big fan of the movie, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, Audrey Hepburn, and the famous jewelry chain, Tiffany and Co. I instantly knew she deserved an engagement ring from Tiffany’s, so I began the engagement ring shopping. Luckily, through all of her “jokes” about being suspicious of me proposing, she revealed her engagement ring and diamond preferences. I found exactly what she wanted, but all I was missing was her ring size. After failing to find out her ring size in secret, I made us stop by a mall jewelry store to get our ring sizes just for fun, and I quickly finalized the engagement ring order.
The proposal planning had just begun! One day, I asked Marie’s father, Dan, to lunch. I revealed my desire to marry Marie, and asked if he could be a part of the surprise proposal. It was great to receive his approval and have him as my side-kick while planning the proposal. Dan would not reveal the details of our lunch to anyone, so everyone became suspicious. Family is very important to Marie and me, so I wanted to involve both of our immediate family members for this special moment. Hence, Dan and I began to reveal details to our family members (except Marie!) as I finalized my plan to propose to the love of my life. Since I had several people involved in the surprise proposal, I created a word document with all of the details such as the proposal date, the location, the nearby parking spots, and lots of pictures. I figured it would be easy to have everything detailed in one document. I hired Twin Firs Photography to capture the proposal, so the word document was great for them to be informed of the plan as well. They were also helpful in providing tips and suggestions to make the surprise proposal a success.
I planned a fancy date in Washington, D.C. to celebrate our anniversary. The plan was to eat dinner at the Wharf, and then migrate to the Georgetown Waterfront for our sunset boat tour along the Potomac. I suggested we arrive early to our boat tour so we could walk along the Georgetown Waterfront Park. Our family members and friends from Twin Firs Photography were hiding behind bushes at the Georgetown Waterfront Park the whole time! As we were walking towards a specific section of the park, our family members came out and revealed signs that spelled out “Marie, will you marry me?” I quickly got down on one knee and proposed, as Twin Firs Photography captured the beautiful moment. After the proposal, Marie and I left our family and had a romantic sunset boat tour. When we got home, we popped champagne and screamed “We’re Engaged!”
