Paradise Found

I have been meaning to make this post for some time now. Katie is probably a little annoyed with me, but oh well, over a month later, here it is: my side of the engagement story!

December 29, 2008

First, let me start by saying the obvious, that this whole event had been in the works for several months. I met with Katie’s dad in early October to ask his permission to propose to Katie. Then I had to sit on that secret until the end of December. Man did my butt get tired (HA!) On top of that, I worked with my jeweler for a few months to put together the perfect engagement ring. The whole time Katie is becoming more and more suspicious and more and more inquisitive. But I was able to trick her into thinking that I was not coming to Hawaii.

My flight was scheduled to leave Denver at 11:30 AM, getting me into Maui at 4:00 PM. I was hoping for a sunset proposal. I arrived at DIA around 9:30 only to find my flight had been delayed until 1PM. Perfect, I thought, I am starting this day off with a change in plans already. I started to stress and found out the plane was on its way and would not be delayed anymore. I notified Katie’s brothers of the change, and they said don’t worry, we are on it. I also called the restaurant and pushed our dinner reservations back an hour. With nothing more for me to do, I waited, got on the plane and waited some more. A flight from Hawaii is long enough, but this flight seemed like an eternity. I had secured the ring in my jean pocket, but probably checked every ten minutes to make sure it was still there. After two movies, some reading, and a lot of thinking of exactly what to say to Katie, I finally landed in Maui.

Katie’s brothers and dad were waiting for me at the airport. They had already taken care of the delay, telling the girls their tee time had been delayed. They also had devised a genius plan, telling the girls they had vouchers for a free dinner at the restaurant Katie and I had reservations at. Perfect, everything was falling into place.

We drove to the restaurant, the Five Palms, which is on the beach. Actually, the restaurant is up on a lawn, and then there are some bushes, then the beach. I had a florist drop off some rose petals and a lea for me. I also brought same candles with me. In hindsight, it was for the best that the flight was delayed because candles really don’t work at sunset. So we arrived at the restaurant, grabbed the stuff, and went to work setting up. Katie’s brothers and dad helped me put the rose petals on the path to the beach and put the candles in the sand. Once everything was set up, they called the girls to tell them they were on their way to the restaurant. The plan was for the girls to meet them there. Then they took off and I waited.

I waited probably only five minutes, but it seemed like another eternity. From where I was standing I could see the parking lot, so I saw Katie the moment she arrived. The second I saw her it really hit me. “This is actually happening,” I thought to myself. Reality had finally set in, and so did the nerves. Time seemed to slow down as Katie walked down the path. I just waited behind the bushes, feeling kind of creepy.

The next thing I knew she was standing right in front of me. I had prepared something to say to her, but the moment she was there I couldn’t completely remember it. Even though I knew she was coming, she startled me a little bit. I took her hands, put the lea on her, told her some sweet things, and then got down on a knee. The ring box was a little bulky and did not slide right out of my back pocket like I had hoped. Oh well, engagements aren’t 100 percent smooth. Then I said “Katie, will you marry me?” and put the ring on her finger. She said yes, and then we kissed. She was in complete shock. She kept looking at the ring the looking at me then looking back at the ring. I told her that it was real, that I was really there and we were really getting married, but I think it took her a day or two to convince herself she wasn’t dreaming. After we celebrated for a bit, we walked down the beach, only to find her sister, sister-in-law and mom waiting. We celebrated with them for a bit. Then we had our first dinner together as an engaged couple and split a bottle of champagne. It was a perfect evening.