The Proposal
It was the first week of November and I had been thinking about proposing for some time. Seeing as the Christmas rush was beginning I knew it was now or never. There was tons be done. Research to be had, Reservations to be made. The day I proposed had to be a momentous occasion filled with all of the things I knew Liz would love. It’s amazing how everything aligned and fell into place.There wasn’t a flaw in the plan. That was until Liz mentioned she had an interview that evening. How was I going to swing that one. Well I managed to push dinner up and figured instead of her roommate prepping the place I could do it during her interview.
I remember that morning clearly. My stomach was turning; I was so nervous during the drive down from Barrie and I kept thinking, “Liz is a smart girl she’ll figure it out”. “There’s no way I could sneak this proposal past her. How will I manage to pull this off?” Anyways, by the time I arrived in Hamilton I had calmed myself down and was ready to take on the day.
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I didn’t see it coming at all. Matt and I had talked about getting married but it was a vague distant thing that we both knew we would eventually want to seriously consider but weren’t really in a place to right now. He was in Barrie and I was finishing my MSc. in Hamilton and we were both broke.
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We had a refreshing service at church. Managed to get some homemade brunch in before we ventured down to Niagara to go horseback riding. Liz had been wanting to go for a while so she didn’t think it was anything special. The day was turning out even more perfect than I could have planned. The forecast said rain, but the clouds held back and it was the warmest day that November. Before we left I had managed to sneak back into the house and prepare some dresses I had bought for dinner, but we’ll get to that in a bit.
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Completely happy with our lovely ride, I wasn’t expecting more when Matt cautiously explained that he had booked reservations for dinner at a restaurant I had been wanting to go to since I had moved to Hamilton. Since we were on a tight budget I was a bit surprised that he would book dinner after a private ride but I was happy to indulge!
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As usual once we were back at her house Liz complained that she had no idea what to wear, so I subtly suggested to check her room for something. She found the 3 dresses I had bought, which fit perfectly (phew!) and of course looked great on her. While Liz was getting ready I went to work filling the mason jars with candles and getting everything ready for when we returned. Time seemed to fly by and within no time we were headed out the door for dinner. She looked beautiful BTW!
I had mentioned to the restaurant when making the reservations that it was a proposal dinner but knowing full well that Liz wouldn’t appreciate a public proposal I had no plans on doing it then and there. However the information I provided went to good use because we had a nice table for 2 tucked aside and a jazz guitarist playing through dinner.
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Dinner was fabulous, with an intimate table, the music and wonderful food at Koosh. Even though everything was so perfect I noticed that Matt barely touched his food and seemed a bit off. I thought at the time that he may be getting sick, little did I know he was nervous about the next phase of his plan!
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After dinner, it was go time. Liz wanted to do her interview downstairs with me listening in, but that would not work for my plan. I had a heck of a time trying to convince her to go upstairs to the office. After I gave every reason why a quiet space would be much better than the living room, she finally gave up and went upstairs.
I only had 30 minutes to get all of the mason jars setup and candles lit. I covered every space I could find with the candles. I even snuck up the rickety staircase so I could light a path for her to follow. I lit the last candle when I realized I still had to setup my computer for music. I crept back down the stairs and heard Liz’s interview ending early. What! I wasn’t finished setting up! I quickly queued up the song and waited with a dry mouth and sweaty palms for her entrance.
- - -
After my interview, I opened the office door to a dark hall with candle light flickering. I stood at the top of the stairs and the though entered my mind that maybe Matt was planning on proposing!
My heart started pounding and I hesitated to go downstairs as I didn’t know what to expect, so I called his name but he didn’t respond. I had no choice. I had to walk down the stairs to see what he was up to. Was he just being romantic, or was this something more?
I got to the bottom of the stairs and stepped into the living room, which was lit up with dozens of candles set in mason jars covering every surface available. It was beautiful. Matt was standing to the side of the room and there was music starting to play. He asked me to dance with him and for a moment I thought that he was just spoiling me and I reassured myself he wasn’t proposing so as to not get my hopes up…
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As everyone knows I’m not much of a dancer; proposing at the same time felt next to impossible. I think I stopped dancing quite a few times as I tried to express my feelings and ask that important question. As the music played and I spoke, it got harder to keep it together. Tears were rolling down my cheeks as I got down on one knee and asked Liz to marry me.
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I think I really knew what was happening once the song Matt had chosen said “marry me” in the background as he starting talking about gushy romantic things. I don’t remember much of what he said because I was crying at this point.
Yes… I cried. I always said I would never cry if a man proposed to me, but I did. If anyone can make me do something I said I would never do it’s Matt.
So as he knelt on his knee and waited while I cried my only thought was, “how can I say yes, I’m crying too much!” So I kissed him instead, until I managed to whisper YES!
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A chapter of our lives completed and a new one just beginning, my princess and I danced into the night elated to start a lifetime of adventures and write a story to remember.
