Our Proposal

We got engaged on Saturday, May 5th 2012.

She said:

I had planned to go back to Michigan for Cinco de Mayo even before I moved. I wanted to see my old coworkers, friends, and Ken (of course). Our good friend Tim had even planned to throw a Cinco de Mayo party so I’d be able to see everyone in one wonderful weekend. Tim’s party was Saturday night and as usual, I decided to get dressed up (thankfully). I was upset that we’d forgotten our camera because we both looked so nice, but I remember Ken saying “don’t worry, we’ll get some pictures later.”

A few hours into the evening, I noticed Khalid setting up his flash on Tim’s refridgerator. I didnt’ think anything of this because being a photographer, Khalid takes awesome pictures all the time. Then Ken got everyone’s attention for a toast – again, not a big deal because he can have his sentimental moments. He thanked our friends in Lansing – the people who made it so hard to leave, our wonderful host Tim – who throws the best parties, and me.

He quoted me in saying being apart was a “slow form of toture” but he hoped that soon, we’d be able to be together forever. This was (apparently) Suzanne’s cue to say “Is that a proposal?” and Dave’s cue to hand Ken a ring. I didn’t totally know what was happening, or why Ken was so sweaty, but he asked me to marry him and gave me a beautiful ring. My cartoon face in the pictures explains my surprise.

He said:

After helping Alyson to move to Blacksburg, I had decided in the terminal at Roanoke that this distance thing just wasn’t going to do. A couple of months later a friend who had worked at a jewelry store during the winter tipped me off to an estate sale happening at her former workplace. I checked it out the Friday morning that it came through town and discovered a ring I quite liked and that – more importantly – I thought Alyson would love. I looked around several other stores the next day only to be disappointed at the mind-numbing uniformity of 90% of the other rings out there. I brought in our friend Suzanne to confirm my suspicions that it was a nice ring an hour before the store’s closing time. As the sale was moving on the next day, I had to make a decision on the spot. So less than 36 hours after having begun the search for a ring, I took a chance a purchased one that spoke to me of Alyson.

I spent the next couple of weeks setting up the party. Tim Schmitt was nice enough to open his Loft o’ Fun to me to throw the party, despite having hosted another massive party the weekend before. David agreed to help me prepare a feast for the event. I went out and bought six of bottles of sparking wine from our favorite Michigan winery. The plans were in place.

The Thursday before the party, I picked Alyson up from the Detroit Airport at midnight, and we stayed the night rather than head straight back to Lansing. There was, however, just one problem – I had locked my keys in my car after parking at the airport. Or at least I thought I had. After getting it open the next morning and ransacking my entire car, I came to the conclusion that I had lost them. No problem, Alyson said, we can just rent a car, drive home, and get your spare. But she was wrong. There was one problem.

The key to the fireproof lockbox with her ring inside was on the keychain.

I mostly ignored her for the next 10 minutes as I started to panic slightly. But I quickly came to a solution. I texted our friend Suzanne who I knew had Fridays off of work. Already being in on the plan, she was gracious enough to drop by my apartment, pick up the lockbox, and take it to a locksmith. Then, the locksmith was gracious enough to open it even though he had already closed his shop.

Despite the drama, everything worked out for the best. David and Suzanne held on to the ring all weekend for me. Then, David held on to the ring during the party so I didn’t walk around with the box protruding from my hip in my pocket. Toward the end of my speech, I stuck my hand behind my back, and David gave me the ring. This part turned out to be crucial, as Alyson later recounted having thought there was no way I was proposing as I didn’t have a box in my pocket.

I don’t remember what I said, but eventually I stumbled through it and got to the end. Luckily enough, Alyson responded to my question with, “Of course!” and a kiss. We were on cloud nine the rest of the weekend. Even when, the next day at the airport, I found my car keys in plain sight wedged between the door and driver’s seat.