|
Quarter 2 2007 Best Proposal Stories
7) The Greatest Gift
My girlfriend wanted my proposal to be a surprise. Being a bit old-fashioned, she also wanted me to get her parents' permission first. Even further complicating things, she wanted me to propose in front of her mother. With her father being sent overseas just after New Years, I figured she would expect her ring under the Christmas tree. That would be too obvious, so I put a plan in motion to propose on her birthday, in late November.
First, I asked her parents' permission. I had to be sneaky, as they live several hours away from us. Any time I was around them, she was around them, and asking over the phone just wouldn't do. I had my opportunity to ask her mother when my girlfriend asked me to pick her up from the hotel she was staying at on the other side of Indianapolis. She was so excited that we started scheming what we would do next! A few weeks later, she kept my girlfriend distracted clothes shopping while I obtained her father's permission as well. This was in October.
Next, I had to get the engagement ring. She wanted a custom designed ring, and couldn't describe quite what she wanted to me. I didn't want to tip her off by being too eager. Around that time, someone we knew had her wedding and engagement rings stolen. One evening when we were running around, they "conveniently" got the idea to check out a local jeweler; one that I had already scouted out. My girlfriend looked through a design book and selected her perfect ring, complete with a diamond she liked and two birthstones to represent us. I told her it would take a while to get the money saved up for the ring, and quietly had it made right away.
Then came the actual proposal. Throughout the year, I had been trying to get her family to Frankenmuth Michigan. Christmas is an important time of year for us, and Frankenmuth is a great place for people who like Christmas. Working with her parents and my parents, I came up with the idea of going to Frankenmuth for her birthday. This was a change from what she thought we would be doing that day. She had actually already given me permission to go to a football game with my father that day!
She was so excited that we were driving to Michigan to spend her birthday with all four of our parents, her sister, and my grandmother that she didn't even suspect the ulterior motive behind the change in plans. The entire trip north she kept making comments that her favorite present would be my asking her father's permission in front of everybody. I wrote off my excitement as nervousness over asking for his permission.
On Sunday morning, her birthday, we all gathered in the hotel room to watch her open her birthday presents. She opened present after present, finally getting to the Big One. She loves Winnie the Pooh, and I had selected some Classic Pooh paper for her gift. She unwrapped that to find a large shoebox-sized gift box in shrink wrap. It had an adult snowman handing a child snowman a heart, and the phrase "The Greatest Gift" on the lid. True to my plan, she thought it was a commercially packaged bathroom set or some such. She removed the shrink wrap and removed the lid. Inside was a diorama featuring a Bride Beanie Baby bear with a bouquet of red and white roses (our flowers), a Groom Beanie Baby bear holding a gold bag containing the engagement ring, and a wedding scent Yankee candle. In front of the candle was an Italian charm with the phrase "Marry Me."
She took in the diorama, and the phrase on the charm, and practically fell into the open gift box. I moved forward, on cue, and asked her, "You're always asking me if you can keep me forever. "Now it's my turn." I addressed her by her full name and continued, "Will you marry me?" She teared up and nodded enthusiastically. She was completely surprised; even more so when she realized her ring was in the box as well! I had fulfilled her every expectation for my proposal. And I got it on two different video cameras, so we can relive the excitement of Engagement Day whenever we want!
Proposal Story By:
David Krupla
Green Field, IN
Back to Quarter 2 2007 Best Proposal Stories
 |
