Written with love, by Pastor Dave Page
In a previous article, “5 Elements for a Successful Proposal” I listed five essential parts to make any proposal just perfect. And today, I'm going to share my experience in proposing to my wife and how I applied these principles.
Asking for Her Hand
I took my wife’s mom and dad out to dinner on the night before I proposed to ask for her hand in marriage. I’ll never forget what her dad said, “With Carrie you get what you see…she’s open and honest and wears her emotions on her sleeves.”
“I like what I see,” I replied. Her mom and dad enthusiastically gave me their blessing to marry their daughter.
The Plan
I had a plan. I took Carrie out to a nice restaurant in Newport Beach, CA. We enjoyed a delicious meal together. I ordered some blueberry cheesecake to go. The server wrapped the cheesecake in tin foil so it resembled a swan.
I drove up the coast to Huntington Beach and when she wasn’t looking slipped the engagement ring onto the top of the cheesecake and secured the tin foil. The sun was just setting as we walked in the sand out to a lifeguard stand on a warm summer evening. We climbed up onto the stand and I asked if she wanted some blueberry cheesecake. “No, I’m not hungry,” she replied. I couldn’t believe it. What do I do now? “How about just one bite to taste it?,” I asked. “Okay, I’ll try one bite,” she replied.” Yes! I handed her the cheesecake still enclosed in tin foil. I shined my flashlight on the cheesecake, as it was nearly dark now.
The Part that Wasn't Planned
The problem was my batteries were drained and the light was extremely faint. She removed the covering and seeing what she thought was a small piece of tin foil, she flicked it off with her middle finger. The ring went flying off the top of the cheesecake and bounced once, bounced twice and came to stop just inches before falling off the lifeguard stand into what would have been a black hole of sand. When she flicked the ring off the cake everything seem like it was moving in slow motion. I saw the ring fly through the air and land at the edge of the stand. She then picked the ring up off the stand realizing that this was no ordinary piece of tin foil. The ring, 24-carrot gold, still had some blueberry sauce on it. She looked at the ring intently realizing that this was an engagement ring.
As she stared at the ring I thought, "This is my big chance. This is my moment. This is where I propose."
I got down on one knee, held her other hand and said, “I love you with all my heart and want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”
Speechless
She looked at me like a deer caught in the headlight. No response. No sound, nothing. I thought, "What do I do now?" I waited what seemed like a minute but was probably only ten seconds and I tried again. “Will you marry me?” I asked. She then gave me a big hug and would not let go. “Does that mean yes?” I asked. She shook her head indicating that indeed the answer was affirmative. Whew. I was thrilled and relieved at the same time.
This was the first time and the last time I ever saw my wife speechless. It was so exiting and something we will always remember and still frequently talk about.
When we were driving out of the beach parking lot we drove by the pay booth and there was a attendant inside the booth. As we drove by my wife hung out of the car and flashed her engagement ring at the attendant and said, “Look I’m engaged and we’re going to get married!”
It was a magical moment that we will always remember.
