The biggest challenge when deciding how to propose is
finding a way to do so that is both unique and meaningful. When it came to proposing to Kaitlin, I had a
few options, but none of them really said “This is it.” But like all great ideas, the best ones come
in a flash of clarity, and you know you have The Perfect Plan.
I had been trying to come up with that Perfect Plan, when
one night I happened to be talking with Chris and Katie Plume about their
impending trip to come out to North Carolina and visit Kaitlin in Winston-Salem,
and then me in the Outer Banks. It was during that conversation when the plan
began to come together. Because Kaitlin
and I met at the Plumes’ wedding (the anniversary of which was right when they
were coming out to visit), and because our first date had been in Manteo, North
Carolina, just up the road from where I lived, I decided to recreate all of the
firsts of our relationship as we took the next step.
I planned out the whole day. While Katie kept Kaitlin busy,
Chris and I would scope everything out and get the final touches in place. Once everything was set, we would have dinner
at Ortega’z, the same restaurant where we had eaten on our first date. At the end of the meal, four roses would be brought
out and given to Kaitlin, signifying the four years we had known each
other. From there, I would walk with her
over to a lighthouse in the little harbor there in town, where we had sat that
night after our first date and talked about the future. It was there that I
would ask Kaitlin to be my bride. I ran this by Chris and Katie, and they were
more than thrilled to be a part of this occasion.
I was nervous and excited the moment I woke up on the
morning of June 1. I could hardly sleep
that night. At breakfast that morning, I couldn’t sit still. Kaitlin was wondering why I was so fidgety,
and Katie was afraid I was going to give it away. But I was able to calm down a
little bit and hide my excitement by the time we headed for Manteo after breakfast.
As with any plan, it didn’t go quite as I had envisioned
it. When we arrived in Manteo, there was
a street fair going on, which made things a little interesting planning-wise,
since we didn’t know if it was going to last all day or end before I popped the
question. But we went with the flow, and
Chris and I scoped everything out. After
that, we decided to walk to the florist to pick up the flowers. It seemed simple enough, but as it turned
out, there was no longer a florist in Manteo.
So Chris and I quickly drove over to another store fifteen minutes away
to find the roses, all the while making sure Kaitlin was still totally in the
dark. We were only able to find them in
a dozen, so we decided that to keep Kaitlin guessing, Chris would give Katie
four roses as well, since it was their fourth anniversary that week. We got the flowers, dropped them off at the
restaurant, told the staff about the plan, and then went to find our ladies for
dinner.
We had a fantastic meal, and it seemed the whole restaurant
was in on my scheme. Each server that
passed by would glance furtively at us, and I am so glad that Kaitlin didn’t
notice, because they were totally giving it away. The flowers were presented at
the end of the meal, and as Kaitlin later admitted, she was still totally in
the dark at that point. But as we began
to walk toward the lighthouse, retracing the route we had taken that night four
years prior, she began to realize that something was up.
When we got to the lighthouse, we reminisced about the first
night we sat on a bench in that very spot, watching the sunset together. Now this reminiscing was all building up to
The Moment, but I will admit that it was partially a stalling tactic as I
waited for Chris and Katie to arrive with the camera so they could photograph
the whole thing. I glanced toward the
town and saw them sprinting towards us, and that was when…
…the little boy with the toy laser gun began a furious gun
battle with alien invaders from some other world that only he could see. He completely threw me off for a minute, as
it was just too funny. He was running around; his dad could see what was going
on and was trying to pull him away, but the kid was having none of it. He was doing battle, and he would not leave
until victory was his.
Meanwhile, Chris arrived at a run, nearly tripping over the planet-saving child in the process, and it was time. I wish I could remember all the words that I said. I told her that it was there on that pier that I realized four years earlier that she was the woman I wanted to spend my life with, that I loved her with all my heart, and that I could not imagine a day without her in it. I got down on one knee and asked her if she would make me the happiest man alive and be my bride. And, since I am writing this for our wedding site, I think you can guess what her answer was. J
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