My Proposal to April . . .

After literally praying about it for years and having numerous conversations with both my parents and April’s, on Friday, April 12, 2013, I asked April to marry me.

After a long, stressful week for April, I decided to take her to the garden on Virginia Tech’s campus to have a relaxing picnic. As the time neared, I slowly revealed clues of the afternoon’s plans to her. At first, she thought we were only going to see the garden because it was springtime, but when she saw me walk out of the dorm with a picnic basket in hand, she realized a picnic was in store! As we walked down to the garden, I told her that I also had a secret to show her inside a larger box I was carrying.

Two friends from my VT dorm had graciously helped me surround the pergola — under which I planned to propose — with flowers. As we arrived at the garden, they were positioned to take candid photos of the engagement (according to Luke’s and my rehearsal earlier that morning). Unfortunately, the “perfect” spot I had planned for was being mulched as April and I approached, and — confirming that we would have to change plans — the man walking in front of us sat down on the exact bench I planned for us to use. These unknowing bystanders had just assaulted my brain with concerns: “Where will they take pictures from? Why did I just waste so much money on unused flower decorations? I just want it to be perfect for her!” Of course, April wasn't daunted by the upset plans, since we were only going on a picnic and the pergola was just as good as the riverside. God had apparently planned all along for us to get engaged at the bench by the river — a perfectly romantic area!

We  enjoyed our picnic for what felt like 15 minutes to me, but (as April assures me) I was only one strawberry bite in before I had to show her the secret inside the box. 

The previous night, I spent hours crafting an igloo! This was a wonderful memory of ours, since our first private date was building an igloo together almost four years ago during the large snow storm. This igloo representation (made from sugar cubes and dairy-free icing since we’re allergic to dairy) was the start of a “time-capsule” which would contain many memories we had and would continue to develop over the years (e.g., pictures as children, special dates together, etc.). Then I showed her that, inside the igloo, I had another special memory to introduce: the engagement ring. Even as I showed her the box containing the ring — until the moment I opened it and asked her — she had no idea I was proposing (since she had asked me to not propose at school, but instead at home near our families). I asked her, “Will you marry me?” and crumbled in tears as I did. She said “Yes!” immediately and we embraced. We stayed in the garden, capturing the moment with an engagement photo-shoot with my photographer friend.

After the proposal, we got dressed up and went to The Summit, a very nice and highly acclaimed restaurant in Christiansburg (which was indeed excellent and I highly recommend it!). According to my weekend plans and to her continual surprise, Saturday morning I made a breakfast for her, then we left to go home to see our families and friends. Sadly, our car’s radiator was leaking, so we had to turn around and head back to school. We instead enjoyed our time as a newly engaged couple at school relaxing with one another, and then the following weekend we returned home to celebrate. Finally, we enjoyed a truly wonderful engagement party that our parents hosted on June 29th.