I opened the invitation to my uncle's surprise birthday party in front of her so she knew we had the party to go to on August 13, 2006.
The day before the party, my cousin called me to help set up the event the next morning. I let Dorianne know that I was going there early, but that I would go back to her house at 4:30 p.m. to pick her up and we would go together. As 4:30 approached I called her to let her know that I was stuck there and asked her if she would meet me at the catering hall and to call me when she got there.
When she called me, I let it go to voicemail.
Furiously, she entered the hall to see 140 of our friends and family yelling "SURPRISE" at her. "Surprise?! For what? It's not my birthday," she thought to herself in near panic as she saw her family there.
"What is my family doing at Steve's family's event?" she thought.
Then the lights went out starting a 6-minute video montage and entrance song on an 8-foot screen in which I came out on a motorcycle, circled the dancefloor, got off and walked up to her and proposed on one knee.
She said yes!
S. K., North Bellmore, New York
I've never been one for tradition or over-the-top, well... anything.
At the beginning of our relationship, one of my friends had just gotten engaged. It was your typical five-star restaurant/ring in the champagne glass type of engagement. I told him I didn't want that. It was too average. I wanted something slightly more personal and intimate.
Not necessarily planned, but I thought that the day a man realizes he wants to spend the rest of his life with someone should be the day he asks her. A couple weeks after our one year anniversary we were cuddled up together watching a movie with the lights off, which we had done hundreds of times before. About halfway through the movie he asked me if I loved him. I said "Of course I love you, why would you have to ask?" He asked me if I loved him enough to spend the rest of my life with him. I was speechless, but he continued to say how much he loved me and couldn't imagine his life without me. He said he wanted the rest of his life to be filled with moments like that night. Then he took the ring from his pocket and asked me to marry him.
Of course I said, "Yes!" and we went out to dinner to celebrate. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect night.
C. P., Little Falls, New Jersey
I was wanting to get engaged, afterall, we had been together for a year and a half. But he kept telling me that it was not the right time and that he wanted to wait a little longer.
I had recently been in my best friend's wedding and my cousin's wedding and thought that we were ready, but he just began teaching this year and, again, wanted to wait.
We decided to go to Galena, Illinois, over the Columbus Day weekend for a nice, long weekend and to spend some time alone together. The day that we left, I brought in the mail and found a letter addressed to Jeff from a jewelry store. I got a little excited, but decided not to say anything unless he did.
He saw the letter when he came home and made up a story about it and we left for our weekend. He had been talking for a while about getting me something nice because I had been there for him when he really needed me and that he appreciated it. He told me a few weeks before that he wanted to buy me a birthstone ring to thank me and I told him my ring size.
When we got to Galena we checked in and took a walk before dinner. We were lodging at a ski resort, so it had gorgeous scenery and went to watch the sunset. As we began to walk, Jeff told me that he had surprised me and got a ring for me, but that it was not a birthstone ring. I still did not know what he was talking about until he took the box out of his pocket and dropped to one knee!
I started bawling and had to ask him later what he said because I was so shocked! He told me that he loved me very much and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. I said yes and then he kissed me and we then called everyone we know.
We are getting married July 21st of this year and I cannot wait! It was the happiest day of my life...so far.
A. K., Dixon, Illinois
I had organized a mountain bike race for close to 1,000 people that took quite a bit of my time leading up to the race weekend. Darlene and her soccer team were helping out with after race barbecue.
Onsite was a large refrigeration truck. I had 24 red roses -- with notes about our last three years together attached to each one with red ribbon -- handed out to her throughout the day by her other team members at random times. She compiled the roses in the middle table of the serving area.
Then just before the pro/elite awards ceremony the emcee and his wife called Darlene up to the stage to present her with an award for putting up with me for the past three years of my having organized this event. The award was a black cruiser bike with a blue flamed seat, pink rims and white walled tires. While this was going on some of my other organizers were waiting in the audience with 2' x 2' koroplast letters that spelled out "Darlene will you marry me Cliff".
When she looked out into the audience of about 500 people and saw the sign, she turned back to look at the emcee and there I was, with one white rose, on my knee in tuxedo, with the ring.
C. M., Canada
We were down in Charleston, South Carolina for a hockey tournament. We were staying at a house right on the beach with the whole team and their significant others. Mike had gone to play hockey that day and got back to the house that afternoon.
He said that several people were going up to the surf shop and asked if I wanted to go. I said sure, so we piled into the car. When we got there, Mike said he didn't want to go in, so we walked over to the pier and sat by the beach.
He had brought a photo album with him. We started looking through the photo album together and they were all pictures of us and different places where important things in our eight year relationship had happened, like the place that he first told me he loved me.
The last picture was a of the pier in Charleston right where we were sitting. He told me that he was going to be mad if I didn't remember what had happened here. I told him that I didn't remember ever being there with him. At that point he told me that what had happened was on a piece of paper under the picture.
I looked and the paper said "the place we got engaged, Charleston 4-20-06." He then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I of course said yes.
Then all of the people who had come to the "surf shop" with us started cheering and clapping. They had been on the pier above us the whole time taking pictures.
J. L., Greensboro, North Carolina
