The Proposal (as told by the groom) If you’ve been reading through all the stories we’ve written, by this point you will know that 1) we started dating again while in Philadelphia 2) we had discussed the possibility of marriage before the proposal and 3) we were living 6 hours apart (if you haven’t read the other stories, go back now!). Carrying on a relationship from 6 hours apart was challenging, and definitely presented obstacles when it came to planning a proposal. First of all, it would be quite challenging, if not impossible, to see Jill without her knowing I was coming. Additionally, I knew she was expecting me to propose (in fact I had been given “instructions” that it would be very nice if she could show off a new ring at Thanksgiving with her family); so she was on high alert for any strange behavior. Finally, through her bridesmaids, I had been informed that Jill had decided that we should get engaged in Philadelphia, quite likely on the same bench where we started dating. (If you know Jill well, you may be familiar with her tendency to have an idea, or find something she likes, and lock in, nearly to the point of being incapable of considering other options :).) So I was set off to plan this whole ordeal, with the goal of not surprising her too much and certainly not embarrassing her, but keeping her guessing and a little unsure. With the aid of Jill’s bridesmaids and my dear sister-in-law, I formulated the plan. We had planned for me to visit her on this particular November weekend, and she was expecting me late that Thursday. However, just to get the planned weekend off to a pleasant start, I decided to surprise her by coming a day early. This was challenging because I needed an excuse for why I couldn’t talk to her that evening (so she wouldn’t wonder why I was in the car for 6 hours talking on the phone with her), but that was accomplished nicely with a few clever lies. Then I spent most of Thursday trying to discreetly ensure that all of the school work she needed to get done was done, in preparation for her kidnapping. Friday morning our favorite nursing student was off to clinical, as usual, at 6 in the morning. I dragged myself up shortly after and sprung into work. I needed to pack for her, but the challenge in this was ensuring that I had everything she would want and need, while not taking anything she was going to notice missing in the few hours she would be home before we were leaving. So, I packed everything I could think of Jill might want, and conveniently left out clothes for her to wear that day so she wouldn’t go looking for something and not be able to find it. So, I got her packed, and myself repacked and loaded up my car. The next phase of my brilliant plan was the dress. There was this purple wrap dress at Express that Jill had been raving about and stressing over whether it was worth the money, and I knew she would be thrilled to have it if there were to be a post-engagement celebration dinner that weekend. So, I convinced her we should go buy it. At the store, at first we couldn’t find it, but then saw it on the clearance rack – perfect! Next, I asked about what else she would need to actually wear this dress and convinced her that we should get everything she would need, so it could all be really new and fun. Once the outfit was complete, we were on our way back to apartment when I “accidentally” take a wrong turn. Jill assumes I just didn’t realize because it was a natural place to make a mistake, but when she informs me of this, I just casually say “No”. Jill is sure that I’m just not understanding, and she tries to calmly explain how it’s easy to make this mistake, she’s done it herself, but I need to go the other way. I chuckle and again say “No”. Finally, after a couple minutes of fighting, Jill starts to pick up on the idea that I’ve done this intentionally and that we’re headed somewhere. When it actually clicked, she screamed and climbed over the seat of my car to the back, where she finds both her bag and mine. At this point she is giddy! Instantly, Jill’s back in the front seat with tons of questions - where are we going, what are we doing, did I pack her brown purse (yes!), and on and on. This is a lot of fun for me, and I play it rather coyly, telling her we’re just going for a little drive and going to have a “fun little weekend away”. Along the drive a few times I quiz her to see if she thinks she knows where we’re going and of course she’s convinced that we’re headed to Philly. Jill’s Pennsylvania geography skills aren’t the best, so she doesn’t realize when we’ve been off course to go to Philly for a few hours. Eventually, I give up and start hinting that maybe she needs to reconsider where we are and finally she figures out we’re headed to Gettysburg. The next morning we headed into Gettysburg to see the sights. We had a good (although cold) time. At one point (on the bench in the picture above), I considered popping the question right there, but decided it just wasn’t quite right. That afternoon though, back at the hotel, Jill was laying on the bed watching TV, and I turned it off and asked her to go sit on the chair. She looks confused for a moment, and was about to ask me to turn the football game back on, but then smiles, and heads to the chair. I sat down in front of her and got out the ring I had gotten. I explained to her how wonderful she is, and how she makes me a much better person simply by being around. I told her how much I love her and how much I love our story, who we are, where we’ve been and where we’re going, and finally, I asked her to marry me. And she said NO! Ok, not really, just making sure you were still reading. She said yes, and has raved quite frequently since about how perfect the weekend was, and I couldn’t agree more. <-- Previous Story Next Story --> Return Home