I had hosted an exchange student from Italy living with me for a year. Her parents came to visit before she went back home and invited us to come and visit them.
Steve and I, my brother Tim, his wife Mitzi (who is a gemologist and worked in a jewelry shop) and my cousin, Cary, made the trip in July of the following year.
Steve had been plotting with Mitzi to purchase the engagement ring since November and planned to propose to me while we were in Italy. Steve had no real idea where he would propose. He told Mitzi, "When I hand you my camera to take the picture, that's when I'll do it."
We were in Venice, in San Marco's Square. He handed the camera to Mitzi. None of our other traveling companions knew what he was up to until he gave me the ring and asked me to be his wife.
Ambra, our exchange student, her mom and dad, Tim and Cary were as surprised as I was. It was a huge moment. Our Italian hosts were honored to be part of it and that we became engaged to be married in their homeland was very special to them.
It was the "trip of dreams" and I will never forget it as long as I live.
J. M., Laona, Wisconsin
The night before all this happened we had gotten into a spat about how "unromantic" Chad was.
The next afternoon I came home from teaching a Saturday morning gymnastics class and there he sat in the front yard on a big comforter that I had recognized was from his parent's house.
As I got out of my car he came over to me and asked me to sit down and have a picnic with him. I figured all of this was because of our conversation we had the previous night. He told me that his mom helped make some food and wanted to prove that he can be romantic.
After lunch he told me that our friends had called earlier and wanted us to come over and check out their new house. It was a pretty nice day for early spring so we hopped on the motorcycle and started down the road.
Well, Chad's motorcycle, like most, has a tendency of breaking down and, as we started down the road from our house, I heard the bike popping and felt it jerking. I looked at his hand and he was turning the bike on and off. I told him to stop but he said there was something wrong so he was turning it off to try and restart it.
We stopped the bike and we got off. I stood there while Chad inspected the engine. I looked down at him and he asked me to run back to the house to get him a wrench. I looked back at the house to see exactly how far I'd have to go and told him I'd be a minute.
He then told me to wait because he thought he might have the one he needed in his coat pocket. As I looked back down at him kneeling by his bike he turned to me and pulled a ring box out of his pocket and asked me to marry him.
I said yes... And the rest is history.
S. C., Lima, Ohio
A Strong Foundation
"Do you want to meet for a glass of wine?" Brian asked Ricardo in private at the end of a family meal. It was a Friday night in mid-December. Brian had never spent any time alone with Deborah's father. They decided to get together Monday evening at Pricci in Buckhead.
Brian knew that Ricardo suspected something." Her entire family is late for everything. I gave him a call Monday morning and told him I was very busy. We decided we would talk sometime between six and six-thirty to schedule a time to meet for a drink. No sooner had six come and the phone rang."
"All right, I'm ready to leave work," Ricardo said.
"Well, there was no way I could leave work at that moment," Brian recalled thinking." So now I was the one who was late. We decided to schedule dinner for seven thirty. We made small talk for twenty minutes and drank a glass of wine. I just blurted it out."
Ricardo told him no less than three times he had his blessing. Then he admired the ring, which Brian's stepfather had helped pick out." I couldn't have asked for it to be nicer," Brian said of Ricardo's warm response.
Deborah thought the proposal would come on Valentine's Day; and both families had their own ideas as to when it would happen. But Brian is not a red heart sort of guy. They had planned a trip at the end of the year to visit their families in Tulsa and Sarasota. On December 20th,the evening before their departure, Deborah was exhausted from working her own hectic schedule and helping Brian pack coffee for mail orders.
All that week, Brian had been "prepping Deborah to get engaged. I told her to bring over a pair of crappy shoes so we could walk around the new house construction site. I told her to come help me at work on Wednesday."
Deborah owned a condo, so the hassles of single family home ownership were new to her." Something's wrong with the foundation," Brian told her." We need to deal with this now."
A bit confused and tired, she fussed a little. Then Brian took her hand. In the dark, they plodded through the mud to where the concrete had recently been poured." The builder told me there was a problem with the waterproofing," Brian said." Tell me if you see any breaks in the waterproofing at the bottom of the foundation."
By now, Deborah was completely confused. Breaks? Waterproofing? But that was just the beginning.
Brian swept his flashlight over the cement, faking an inspection. He stood on the section of the foundation that would support their bedroom on the second floor. He lowered to one knee then pulled a winter glove off Deborah's hand. He put the ring on her finger.
"Will you marry me?"
Deborah stood there, speechless and in shock." Then I'm screaming. I do not even comprehend."
"So are you going to answer my question?"
"Of course, yes, yes! I never thought you would propose here."
"I wanted to do it here," Brian said," because this is where we are going to start our new life together."
D. K., Atlanta, GA
Since my sophomore year in high school I was head-over-heels in love with this one boy but he never loved me back. We were best friends and that's all I ever thought we'd be, and it killed me.
After we graduated we still remained close, everyone assumed we were a couple, but we never really made it official or anything, he was never up for it. I didn't date other guys, because he got jealous, and he dated a few girls, but never anything serious, because I got jealous easily and it bothered him.
A couple years of all of that nonsense, which became ridiculous, we were at my house sitting on my porch talking when I just started crying—a lot—and when he asked what was wrong, I told him I was tired of this and that I wanted to know if we were a "couple" or just friends and never anything more.
He paused for a long time and eventually said, "No, I don't want to be a couple." There was another long pause after that. At this point I was very worried and upset. Then he said, "I want to be your husband."
He got down on one knee and proposed! It was obviously one of the most emotional days of my life!
A. M., Latrobe, Pennsylvania
My boyfriend and I live together in Chicago. There is an annual event called Venetian Night where decorated boats with lights parade around the harbor. Afterwards there are fireworks.
He bought us tickets to go to a fancy party at the Shedd Aquarium that night (my favorite place in Chicago). First we enjoyed sipping champagne and wandering among the aquarium exhibits.
Then everyone was escorted to the Shedd's North terrace to watch the parade and fireworks. Midway through the fireworks he proposed.
I think I squeaked out "Yes!" somewhere between "Oh my God, Oh my God."
J. C., Chicago, Illinois
